By the Numbers: Paralympic Games | Sports Destination Management

By the Numbers: Paralympic Games

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Aug 12, 2021 | By: Michael Popke
Photo © Andre Ricardo | Dreamstime.com

If you watched the closing ceremonies of the Games in Tokyo, you saw the promo for the Paralympic Games, starting next week. That promo, done by none other than Dwayne (fka The Rock) Johnson, talked about the courage, the fitness and the all-out spirit of the athletes.

There are two new sports in the mix this year but that’s only one of the interesting numbers.Here are 15 more facts and figures about the Paralympics, which run from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5:

3: Rank of the Paralympic Games among the largest sporting events in the world (TeamUSA.org)

22: Number of Paralympic sports — the same as in 2016 and two more than in 2012  (Paralympic.org)

2: Number of sports making their debut at the Paralympics — badminton and taekwondo (Paralympic.org)

4,400: Estimated number of athletes who will compete in 539 events during the Paralympic Games (TheHill.com)

• 240: Number of athletes (234) and guides (6) on Team USA’s Paralympics roster (TeamUSA.org)

129: Number of returning Team USA Paralympians, including 23-time Paralympic medalist Jessica Long in swimming and 17-time medalist Tatyana McFadden in track and field (TeamUSA.org)

121: Number of U.S. women Paralympians (TeamUSA.org)

113: Number of U.S. men Paralympians (TeamUSA.org)

1,200: Number of hours of Paralympics coverage NBC Universal plans across its broadcast networks, cable networks and digital platforms — including first-ever primetime broadcasts (NBCOlympics.com)

70: Number of hours NBC dedicated to Paralympics coverage of the 2016 Games in Rio (TeamUSA.org)

5.5: Number of hours NBC dedicated to Paralympics coverage of the 2012 Games in London (TeamUSA.org)

• 4,328: Number of Para athletes from 159 countries who competed in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio (Paralympic.org)

• 49: Percent increase in the number of employed individuals with disabilities in Brazil between 2009 — the year Rio was awarded the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics — and 2018 (Paralympic.org)

2.15million: Number of spectators at the Rio 2016 Paralympics — second only to the London 2012 Paralympics (Paralympic.org)

0: Number of expected spectators at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (TheHill.com)

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