Earlier this month, movie star Tom Cruise made an epic entrance at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony and the Olympic flag arrived in Los Angeles. While those events marked the conclusion of the Summer Games, the French capital was the site of another opening ceremony on Wednesday night.
The highly anticipated 2024 Paralympic Games gets into full swing in Paris this week after the festivities at Wednesday’s opening ceremony. Competitions officially get underway on Aug. 29.
Thousands of athletes with physical, intellectual and visual impairments have descended on France for their chance to win a coveted Olympic medal. California native Ezra Frech is one of those athletes who made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
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Ezra Frech (Moto Yoshimura/Getty Images/File)
Frech, who has competed in high jump, long jump and sprinting events, is also returning to familiar territory. He won a gold medal in the World Championships in the largest city in France last year.
He spoke to Fox News Digital about how proud he is to have the opportunity to go back overseas and represent the country he deeply loves.
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“I love the USA. I’m grateful for all the opportunities this country has given me. I’m grateful to live in the best nation in the world, so I wear that red, white and blue, that USA across my chest with the utmost pride and representing everybody who has sacrificed for this country, and I look forward to making all of us proud.”
Organizers noted that 2.8 million tickets were made available for this year’s Paralympics, with an estimated 2 million of those having been purchased entering the first wave of competitions. The large crowds should provide a boost to the athletes, many of whom traveled to Tokyo in 2021 and competed at venues that restricted fans from attending due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ezra Frech competes in the men’s long jump T63 final at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. (Reuters/Christopher Pike)
Frech now has the chance to showcase his talents to all the fans who traveled to Paris as well as those who are watching back in the U.S. Instead of focusing on his physical disability, Frech stays motivated by remembering all the people who believe in him and have helped him throughout his athletic journey.
“What keeps me going is the people who believe in me. My family, my friends, my team, my coaches, my prosthetist, my chiropractors, my strength and conditioning coach, everybody involved in my journey. I truly believe my lack of commitment would be an insult to those who believe in me, so everything I do is to make them proud.”
Ezra Frech competes in the men’s long jump T63 final at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, on May 19, 2024. (Paul Miller/Getty Images)
The Paralympic Games is scheduled to take place over 11 days and will feature 22 sports. Of those 22 sports, 20 have an Olympic equivalent. The two exceptions are goalball and boccia.
Frech’s stance on remaining committed despite the odds and competing at a high level, echoes his sentiments from June when he pushed back against the idea that observers should “feel sorry” for Paralympic athletes. In fact, Frech said fans should only expect intense competition from some of the best athletes in the world when they tune in to the Paralympic Games.
“I would hope that the average American or average [viewer] recognizes how elite some of these sports are,” Frech told Fox News Digital in June. “People get confused and sometimes feel sorry for some of the athletes. There is no place for pity in the Paralympic Games. These are the best athletes on the planet. They just happen to have a physical disability.
“If you want to tune in and watch high, high, high-level sport, that’s what you tune in to watch the Paralympic Games for. It’s not a sob story, it’s not a pity party. These are the best athletes on the planet competing against one another. And that’s what I hope people take away from the Paralympics.”
Outside the stadium, P&G, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee formed a joint venture known as the P&G Athletes for Good Fund. Frech is a partner in the venture. The group highlights athletes and para-athletes who have made a positive impact in their communities while also excelling in their respective sports.
As the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begins, Frech will also be featured in the documentary titled “Rising Phoenix: A New Revolution.” Harder Than You Think Productions and P&G Studios joined forces to bring the film to life.
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Wednesday’s opening ceremony featured notably better conditions than the rain-soaked environment that Olympic athletes faced in their own opening ceremony as they rode in boats down the Seine River. Despite the soggy conditions, fans still gathered to watch the show.
Accessibility was a key component of the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games. The areas along and surrounding Paris’ famed Avenue des Champs-Élysées have strips of asphalt to facilitate an accessible environment. The entirety of Concorde square, a major public square in the French city, also has accessibility features.
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