Today at 18:51
On August 24, the XVI Summer Paralympic Games 2020 in Tokyo officially started. Ukraine is represented by 143 athletes who will compete in 15 sports.
UA reports this with reference to Ukrinform.
According to the report, swimmers Elizaveta Mereshko and Viktor Smirnov will be the standard-bearers at the opening ceremony.
The 16th Summer Paralympic Games will be the seventh in a row for Ukrainian Paralympic team. The 2020 Paralympics will last 12 days, until September 5. Representatives of 168 countries will compete in 22 sports.
“In 1996 in Atlanta Ukraine has for the first time since proclamation of independence Ukraine participated in Paralympic Games. Each time the national team increased the number of medals and took the third place in the world at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This testifies to the victory in the life of every athlete, coach, every person who supports the competition, as well as the stability of Ukraine as a state” – said Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Takashi Kurai.
To remind, at last year’s summer games, the Ukrainian national team became the third in the team event. In total, our Paralympians won 464 medals during all games.
