PARIS - All six national para-athletes and four coaches will be dressed to the nines on Wednesday night as they take part in what promises to be a spectacular outdoor opening ceremony of the 17th Paris Paralympic Games at the Place de la Concorde to Champs-Élysées in Paris, France.
But once para swimmer Ernie Gawilan and para archer Agustina Bantiloc and teammates Jerrold Mangliwan, Cendy Asusano, Angel Mae Otom, and Allain Ganapin have finished taking part in the festive rites in their ethnic-inspired uniforms, their focus will be back to the task at hand.
Joining them in the Paralympic Games opening-night festivities for the first time are coaches Gershon Bautista, Jonathan Josol, Berson Buen, and Brian Ong of taekwondo, archery, track and field and swimming, respectively, in the trip supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The opening ceremony will be held at the famous Parisian square starting at 8 p.m. (2 a.m. Thursday, Manila time).
The Paralympic Games inaugural rites promise to be as colorful – albeit perhaps less controversial – as the Olympic opening ceremony also conceptualized by artistic director Thomas Jolly, regarded as the “Peter Pan” of French theater.
To reach the pinnacle of the quadrennial global sports showcase for physically-challenged athletes is no joke, and the country’s “Sensational Six” are just among a select 4,350 athletes from 168 countries who will be vying for victory within the glamorous French capital in the next two weeks.
“We pray that the success of our Olympians in Paris just two weeks ago will rub off and inspire our athletes to excel more than ever before,” Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo said in a statement from Manila.
“We would like to thank PSC Chairman Dickie Bachmann for fully supporting our Paralympians, allowing them extra time in France to acclimatize and adjust so they can do better and hold their own with the best in their respective sports,” Barredo added
First to see action after Wednesday night’s opening ceremony gala is Bantiloc, who will compete in the women’s compound event at the shooting range in Les Invalides, a complex of buildings that pays homage to the colorful military history of France.
