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Rabat – With the 2024 Paralympic Games now underway in Paris, Moroccan athletes are entering the competition with a strong sense of confidence and a resolute drive to achieve remarkable results.
In a statement to MAP, Chakib Benmoussa, Morocco’s Minister of National Education, emphasized the optimism and enthusiasm among the Moroccan Paralympic delegation, which features athletes competing in a range of sports disciplines.
“The Moroccan Paralympic team approaches these Games with confidence and a positive attitude, fueled by a spirit of unity and excitement, with hopes of achieving outstanding results,” Benmoussa said.
He credited the qualification of the 38 Moroccan para-athletes, 24 men and 14 women, to the dedicated efforts of sports federations, technical teams, and the sports department.
Read Also: Najwa Awane, Hicham Lamlas to Lead Morocco as Flag Bearers at Paris Paralympics Opening
The minister, who visited the Paralympic Village in the Paris region to inspect the Moroccan team’s accommodations, highlighted Morocco’s impressive performance at the Tokyo Paralympics, where the nation secured eleven medals.
Benmoussa also lauded the favorable reception of the Moroccan delegation and acknowledged that organizers have provided excellent facilities and structures for their training needs.
The Paralympic Games, held annually shortly after the Olympic Games, represent the leading international sporting event for athletes with various disabilities.
Morocco is competing in the 17th edition of these Games with a delegation of 38 athletes (24 men and 14 women) participating in disciplines such as athletics (for motor and visual impairments), wheelchair tennis, para powerlifting, para taekwondo, para road cycling, and goalball.
Since Morocco’s first appearance at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, the country has earned a total of 38 medals—16 gold, 11 silver, and 11 bronze—primarily through achievements in para-athletics, which accounts for 34 of these medals.
The opening ceremony, which took place yesterday at 8:00 p.m. local time in Place de la Concorde, Paris’s historic square, featured the Paralympic flame.
This flame was initially lit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, and was transported to France via the Channel Tunnel, making stops in various French cities along the way.
