There was also the ongoing saga of whether Russian athletes would be able to compete.
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The boos soon turned to cheers, however, as American Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy, who had both her legs amputated below the knee at the age of nineteen, performed an intricate dance that included ballet and samba, with her partner, a robotic arm.
Controversy hung over the no-show by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach – the first absence of an IOC chief since the 1984 Summer Games.
Watch out, too, for London 2012 champions Ollie Hynd, Jon Fox and Bethany Firth in the pool, plus a host of British athletes in the various 100m heats and men’s 400m semi-finals.
Russian Federation will miss out of the games after Switzerland’s highest Court has dismissed an appeal against the decision of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) to ban the country from the 2016 Paralympic games.
There were also reports in Globo and other Brazilian media outlets that Bach is wanted for questioning by local police investigating an illegal ticket selling ring allegedly involving a senior Irish Olympic official.
Rio police were to give a news conference on the matter Thursday.
“We are excited to work with the International Paralympic Committee to bring the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games to the Olympic Channel in our collective efforts to create broader awareness and engagement for these sports and athletes”, says Mark Parkman, General Manager of the Olympic Channel. But organisers have reported a dramatic turnaround in sales since the end of the Rio Olympics on August 21, when only 300,000 tickets had been sold.
Caught in political and economic crises, Rio 2016 organizers have skimped as far as they can on food, transport and accommodation.
The opening day of competition yesterday, however, was marred by swathes of empty seats at every venue.
Following the failure of the appeal, major Russian broadcasters have decided not to air the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Ticket sales have improved, with 1.6 million sold of the 2.5 million available, after only 12 per cent had been bought just three weeks ago.
“It’s always very very important to have a highly successful national team coming from the country where the Games are taking place”.
The 41 career gold medals won by blind American swimmer Trischa Zorn between 1980 and 2004 looks unbeatable, but the Paralympics will inevitably produce new tales of courage.
Iran’s 28-year-old power-lifter Siamand Rahman, disabled since birth, is aiming to become the first Paralympian to bench press 300kg.
Paralympic athletes flying the flag for Leeds include wheelchair sprinter Kadeena Cox and para-cyclist David Stone as the Games get under way in Rio today.
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China are the Paralympics superpower, having topped the medal table at London 2012 with 231 medals, 95 of which were gold.
