See 16 Incredible Photos from the 2024 Paris Paralympics

Getty photographers tell PEOPLE about how they nailed these shots of Paralympians from around the world as they competed for gold

The 2024 Paralympics have been yet another picture-perfect show of athletic achievement — all with the backdrop of Paris.

As approximately 4,400 competitors from 168 countries fought for gold, silver and bronze in sports like wheelchair volleyball, archery, track and field and more, Getty photographers captured every moment.

And after over a week of competition, they're sharing 16 of their favorite shots from across the Games with PEOPLE.

Double Trouble

As photographer Alex Davidson started shooting goalball, he "realized goalball skills require the athletes to be covering the net in coordination together."

"I saw some activity around the goal and had something like this shot in the back of my mind if it happened. Christian King and Tyler Merren of Team USA produced beautiful symmetry jointly defending the goal which seemed to summarize my impressions of the sport nicely."

Making Paralympic History

As Zakia Khudadadi became the first Refugee medalist in Paralympic Games history, photographer Steph Chambers was excited to highlight the taekwondo athlete — but this moment was better than she could have hoped for.

"The French fans cheered her on the entire day because she currently lives and trains in France, so I knew a winning moment would be explosive from her. Little did I know that her coach would do most of the celebrating and parading of her!" Chambers tells PEOPLE. "I positioned myself to stay squared up with the Paris 2024 logo on the stair and waited for the celebration and Khudadadi’s expression to align with it. This all lined up to be 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 lens to capture the players of 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 add to the texture of this image. I worked on this for about half of a set to get it just right."

Jumping with Joy

As Rosibel Colmenares of Team Venezuela went for gold in the women's long jump T11 final, photographer Ezra Shaw was struck by the partnership required in such an individual event.

"All the athletes wear masks over their eyes so everyone is on the same level during competition and each athlete has a guide/assistant that helps them during the event. They usually stand right at the line where the athletes take off and either shout or clap as the athletes are running down the track and right 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 power shown in this picture and the angle of Colmenares being head on to the camera as she lands."

Medal Magic

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

Clay Court Magic

Before the grueling wheelchair tennis matches of the Paralympics officially began, players spent hours on the court practicing for some of the biggest tournaments of their lives. That's when photographer Steph Chambers grabbed this tricky shot of Australia’s Anderson Parker.

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

That Winning Feeling

Kinga Drozdz of Team Poland was overcome with happiness after winning a game during the women's sabre category A semifinal, which Chambers captured.

"Fencing is full of explosive emotions after each point, but the best reaction is after the winning moment."

Eyes on the Ball

Photographer Naomi Baker used a remote camera set up in the roof of Bercy Arena to get this shot of Ignacio Ortega of Team Spain as he and Jorge Salazar of Team United States waited to see if his shot would go in during a men's wheelchair basketball group stage match.

"It's been really fun to use to show another angle of the sport," Baker says. "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 — known as the "Armless Archer" — achieved a years-long dream this Paralympics when he took gold in archery on Sunday, Sept. 1.

"It was remarkable and exceptional to witness Team USA’s Matt Stutzman progress to gold at Esplanade Des Invalides," Davidson says. "I wanted to portray his accuracy, strength, concentration and the art of archery all in a single shot."

"I noticed Stutzman’s head turn very slightly towards my position as he released the arrow which was key to getting the photo I wanted. All the elements came together, and Stutzman was looking straight down my lens, something quite unusual in this sport. The arrow in flight fits the frame nicely and his expression to me says it all—lost in his own world of concentration and focus."

Sister, Sister

It was sibling against sibling in the final of the women's 100-meter breaststroke SB14 on Monday, Sept. 2 as Debora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Brazil swam to 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 and feeling of calm that this image brings as it is just before they broke the surface to hear the roar of the crowd," photographer Adam Pretty says.

Ball Handling

Chambers nabbed this shot of Taichi Hirabayashi of Team Japan as he carried the ball against Jhon Alexander Hernandez Garcia of Team Colombia during a preliminary match.

"Blind soccer is unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before," she says. "Players listen to the rattling ball as it ricochets off boards along the sidelines and across the turf. I wanted to capture a clean image of players possessing the ball across the center logo. It took some waiting, but fortunately the play crossed in the right spot."

Sprinting to the Finish

As Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington took bronze in the cycling track - open C1-5 750m team sprint final, Garrison noticed that she could get their reflection in the glass in one spot.

"During the Team Sprint, the cyclists are stacked together just after the start of the race, and I knew I had one shot to get the image I wanted," she explains. "I framed it how I thought it would look best and waited for them to come around the turn. I needed the cyclists to be stacked to make it work. I used a wide-angle lens to capture this moment."

Feeling Golden!

After seeing Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Pretty knew the swimmer was "a star athlete with 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 robotic camera for this session, so I was only able to photograph him as he got out of the pool after winning gold," Pretty says. "The atmosphere is electric in Paris, the best I have ever experienced for a Paralympic Games and Gabriel was just celebrating big with the fans."

Speeding Away

Jaryd Clifford of Team Australia, the world record holder in the men's 1500-meter T13, was captured here by Baker as he led at one point during the 2024 Paralympic final, but couldn't hold on, finishing fourth in a close finish. Aleksandr Kostin, competing in the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) delegation, took gold, while Tunisia's Rouay Jebabli finished second and Anton Kuliatin, also competing under NPA, earned bronze.

"I wanted to show motion and speed during the men's 1500-meter T13 final so I chose a side on angle to use slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the athletes," Baker says. "I really love how colorful this image is too."

Shot Put Shout

Baker says she was on a different part of the field at Stade de France when shot putter Sawsen Ben Mbarek turned heads.

"I was shooting the long jump competition nearby and heard the screams of Sawsen Ben Mbarek and saw the effort she was putting into every throw and it really caught my attention," Baker says. I really wanted to show the exuberance and emotion but also the technique of this sport and her approach. You can see really see here the force and power behind the throw."

Gold on Gold

"Throughout the Paralympic Games, each night, the Getty Images team has been displaying best of moments from the Games around the city of Paris on buildings, walls and iconic landmarks through a project called Parisienne Projections," Davidson explains.

On Sunday, Sept. 1, they were featuring French swimmer and gold medalist Emeline Pierre, who won the women's 100-meter freestyle S10 final, and Davidson grabbed a shot of the moment she was on display just below the Eiffel Tower.

"What better way to pay tribute to a great French victory than placing it against the background of the Eiffel Tower," he says. "Shot from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim and with some work to get the right scale to the projection, the image fitted the architecture of the bridge perfectly. The cardboard cutout of Emeline Pierre hugs the arch. She reaches out to embrace the tower. The French flag flies in exactly the right place in the background. It adds up to a joyous French, Parisian and Paralympic celebration which is what the project is all about."

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