Double trouble

When photographer Alex Davidson started shooting goalball, he realized “that goalball skills require athletes to be coordinated in covering the net.”

“I saw some activity around the goal and had this shot in the back of my mind if it happened. Team USA’s Christian King and Tyler Merren produced some beautiful symmetry defending the goal together, which seemed to sum up my impressions of the sport nicely.”

Making Paralympic history

When Zakia Khudadadi became the first refugee to win a medal at the Paralympic Games, photographer Steph Chambers was excited to celebrate the taekwondo athlete. But the moment was better than she could have hoped for.

“The French fans were cheering her on all day because she’s currently living and training in France, so I knew a winning moment would be explosive from her. I had no idea her coach would be doing most of the celebrating and strutting for her!” Chambers tells PEOPLE. “I positioned myself to stand directly across from the Paris 2024 logo on the steps and waited for the celebration and Khudadadi’s expression to match it. It all came together in the perfect moment and was really special to capture.”

Hands up!

Photographer Elsa Garrison loved the “epic battles” at the net in sitting volleyball and used a close-up lens to capture the players from Team Canada and Team Rwanda at the net.

“What I love about this image is that you can see the taped fingers — the Paralympics and Team Canada artwork on their fingernails all adds to the texture of this image. I spent about half a set working on this to get it just right.”

Jumping for joy

As Team Venezuela’s Rosibel Colmenares took gold in the T11 women’s long jump final, photographer Ezra Shaw was impressed by the teamwork required in such an individual event.

“All the athletes wear masks over their eyes so that everyone is on an equal level during the competition and each athlete has a guide/assistant who helps them during the event. They usually stand right on the line where the athletes take off and shout or clap as the athletes run down the track and just before they jump, the guides move to the side,” he explains. “It was incredible to see the teamwork between the two. I love the emotion and strength shown in this shot and the angle of Colmenares being right on the camera as she lands.”

Medal magic

Team Indonesia’s Dheva Anrimusthi took to the court in joy after winning bronze in the men’s singles badminton SU5 at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

Magic on clay courts

Before the gruelling Paralympic wheelchair tennis competitions officially began, players spent hours on the court practicing for some of the biggest tournaments of their lives. That’s when photographer Steph Chambers captured this difficult photo of Australia’s Anderson Parker.

“The sun beautifully illuminates the famous red clay of Roland Garros. I wanted to add an extra layer of interest by finding a reflection,” she says, explaining that she used “pieces of plexiglass around the venue” to create the effect.

That winning feeling

Kinga Drozdz of the Polish team was very happy after winning a match in the semi-final of the women’s category A in the sabre tournament. Chambers won the match.

“Fencing is a competition full of explosive emotions after every point, but the best reaction is after the winning moment.”

Eyes on the ball

Using a remote camera set up on the roof of the Bercy Arena, photographer Naomi Baker captured this photo of Spain’s Ignacio Ortega as he and U.S. team Jorge Salazar waited to see if his shot would find the net during a men’s wheelchair basketball group stage match.

“It was really fun to use it to show a different side of the sport,” Baker said. “The timing is perfect to see the athletes back-to-back ready to go and their faces through the hoop. I think it’s a really impactful image and one of my favorites from the Games so far!”

The armless archer in action

Team USA’s Matt Stutzman, better known as the “Armless Archer,” made a years-long dream come true at these Paralympic Games when he won gold in archery on Sunday, September 1.

“It was remarkable and extraordinary to watch Team USA’s Matt Stutzman win gold at the Esplanade Des Invalides,” said Davidson. “I wanted to capture his accuracy, power, focus and the art of archery all in one shot.”

“I saw Stutzman’s head turn ever so slightly towards my position as he released the arrow, which was essential to getting the shot I wanted. All the elements came together and Stutzman looked straight into my lens, which is quite unusual in this sport. The arrow in flight fits nicely into the frame and his expression says it all: he is lost in his own world of concentration and focus.”

Sister, sister

On Monday, September 2, brother and sister faced each other in the final of the women’s 100m breaststroke (SB14). Debora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Brazil won silver and bronze respectively.

“I love the sense of action and direction you get with the bubbles and the deep blue color, but also the sense of calm this photo evokes, just before they break the surface of the water and hear the roar of the crowd,” says photographer Adam Pretty.

Ball handling

Chambers captured this photo of Team Japan’s Taichi Hirabayashi carrying the ball against Team Colombia’s Jhon Alexander Hernandez Garcia during a preliminary round match.

“Blind football is unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before,” she says. “Players listen to the ball rattling off the sideline boards and across the field. I wanted to capture a clear shot of players in possession of the ball over the central logo. It took a while, but thankfully the play crossed in the right place.”

Sprint to the finish

As Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington won bronze in the 750m track team sprint final (open C1-5), Garrison noticed she could see their reflections in one spot in the glass.

“During Team Sprint, the cyclists are stacked on top of each other right after the start of the race, and I knew I had one shot to get the image I wanted,” she explains. “I framed it the way I thought it would look best and waited until they came around the bend. I needed the cyclists stacked on top of each other to make it work. I used a wide-angle lens to capture that moment.”

I feel like gold!

After watching Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Pretty knew the swimmer was “a star athlete with a great personality.”

“So I wanted to try to capture some of his emotions and reactions after his race,” the men’s 100-meter backstroke S2 ​​final, which Araujo won.

“I was actually on the underwater robot camera for this session, so I only got to photograph him coming out of the pool after winning gold,” Pretty says. “The atmosphere in Paris is electric, the best I’ve ever experienced for a Paralympic Games and Gabriel just celebrated big time with the fans.”

Driving away

Team Australia’s Jaryd Clifford, the world record holder in the men’s 1500m T13, was overtaken by Baker here after taking the lead at one point during the 2024 Paralympic final, but he was unable to hold on and finished fourth in a narrow finish. Aleksandr Kostin, competing with the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) delegation, won gold, while Tunisia’s Rouay Jebabli finished second and Anton Kuliatin, also competing with the NPA, won bronze.

“I wanted to show movement and speed during the men’s 1500m T13 final, so I chose a sideways angle to use a long exposure to capture the movement of the athletes,” Baker says. “I also really like how colorful this image is.”

Shot Put Scream

Baker says she was standing in another part of the field at Stade de France when shot putter Sawsen Ben Mbarek caught the eye.

“I was watching the long jump competition nearby and I heard the screams of Sawsen Ben Mbarek and saw the effort she put into every throw and that really caught my attention,” Baker said. “I really wanted to show the exuberance and emotion, but also the technique of this sport and its approach. You really see the power and strength behind the throw.”

Gold on gold

“During the Paralympic Games, the Getty Images team showcased the greatest moments of the Games in the city of Paris each evening on buildings, walls and iconic landmarks through a project called Parisienne Projections,” Davidson explains.

On Sunday 1 September, French swimmer and gold medallist Emeline Pierre was the guest, who won the women’s 100m freestyle final in S10. Davidson captured the moment when she was just visible under the Eiffel Tower.

“What better way to pay tribute to a great French victory than to set it against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower,” he says. “Shot from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim and with some work to get the scale right for the projection, the image fit perfectly with the architecture of the bridge. Emeline Pierre’s cardboard cutout embraces the arch. She reaches out to embrace the tower. The French flag flies in just the right place in the background. It adds to a joyful French, Parisian and Paralympic celebration, which is what the project is all about.”