Paralympics to Open With Empty Stands but a Bigger Stage

Olympics|Paralympics to Open With Empty Stands but a Bigger Stage

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/sports/olympics/paralympics-tokyo-opening.html

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Paralympics to Open With Empty Stands but a Bigger Stage

Television exposure and new interest from sponsors are raising hopes that the Games can build on their momentum.

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The symbol for the Paralympics near the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay.CreditCredit…By Chang W. Lee

By Gwen Knapp

Published Aug. 23, 2021Updated Aug. 24, 2021, 6:08 a.m. ET

TOKYO — One Paralympic swimmer ended up training in the chilly Arkansas River for a while after the coronavirus pandemic cut off her access to a pool.

Another borrowed a swim bench, set it up in her garage in Minnesota and simulated her strokes against the resistance of a pulley system. It was the closest she could come to propelling herself through water.

And in Cardiff, Wales, a shot-put champion improvised by stringing a cargo net between apple and pear trees so he could safely practice in the yard of his new home.

Months later, those three [...]