Day 7

Today we traveled about an hour from the hotel to INSEP, the French Olympic training facilities, to meet with the Sports Director for the National Paralympic Committee (NPC). We were able to have an at length discussion about the specifics of the Paralympic, which most of us knew very little about prior to this trip. The Paralympics were born in England post World War II when a surgeon had the idea to introduce sport into the rehabilitation process of injured soldiers. The first organized international games for these soldiers was during the 1948 London Olympic Games and it played host to about two or three countries whose injured soldiers came together to compete. The Paralympics still struggles to get funding and recognition. With France hosting the 2024 Games, the NPC is hoping to market Paralympians by promoting their stories.

Then we got the opportunity to tour the facility, which was absolutely mind-blowing. We were able to meet a few Paralympians on the track outside. Thimotee Adolphie (t11) and Tresor Makunda (t11), track and field Paralympians, were kind enough to take a few photos with the group. We also met Gauthier Grumier, the Rio 2016 gold medalist in fencing.

After the tour, we all took some time to get lunch and then met up again for class. Professor Kim gave us some clarification on the Paralympics and then we dove into a discussion of the bidding process. We all watched the video of Paris’ bid for the 2024 Games on YouTube prior to the discussion, so we had our own thoughts to contribute, which led to a strong flow of ideas rather than a lecture.

Next, we got to experience authentic French cuisine at dinner. We tried escargot, French for snails (ew), which was actually pretty good if you don’t think about what you’re eating. We also tried a bunch of French cheeses and most of us ordered duck. It was all delicious, and I’m glad we all tried it together or I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to willingly eat a snail.

Finally, to end our night, we took a boat ride tour of France. It was so awesome to see the city at night, under the light of the Eiffel Tour, which was all lit up. It was a great way to spend our last night in Paris, and I’m sad to see our time here come to an end, but at the same time I can’t wait to see what Switzerland has in store for our group.