Photos show the biggest moments of the 2024 Paralympics

• The 2024 Paralympic Games were held from August 28 to September 8.
• Getty Images photographers shared their best photos of memorable moments from the competition.
• Photos show Paralympic athletes battling for gold medals and celebrating their wins.

From August 28 to September 8, 4,400 athletes from around the world gathered in Paris to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games .

As Paralympians swam, ran, jumped, rowed, and cycled their way to victory, Getty Images photographers captured memorable moments along the way. In an email to Business Insider, Getty Images photographers shared the stories behind some of their most iconic images.

Here are the biggest moments from the 2024 Paralympic Games in photos.

Adam Pretty used an underwater robotic camera to photograph Debora and Beatriz Borges Carneiro, who are sisters, swimming for Brazil.

Both sisters made it to the podium in the women's 100-meter breaststroke. Debora won silver and Beatriz took home the bronze.

Pretty said that the Borges Carneiro sisters wore blue swimsuits and caps that complemented the color of the water for a striking photo.

"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," Pretty said.

Ezra Shaw photographed Australia's Vanessa Low landing in the sand after her gold-medal-winning long jump.

" This view provides a different vantage point for when the athlete lands where we can see them above and shows the impact of their jump," Shaw said.

Alex Slitz placed his camera on the ground to photograph Daniel Romanchuk of Team USA in the men's 800-meter track race.

Romanchuk placed second in round one of the men's 800-meter and fifth in the final.

"I wanted to capture the lead athlete from Team USA through heavy water on the track," Slitz said.

Slitz continued, "The low angle helps clean up any distracting elements in the background and really emphasizes the water spray as they come out of the turn."

Hiromi Endo of Japan celebrated her bronze medal in boccia, a Paralympic sport, in a photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos.

Mouhtaropoulos said that boccia is one of his favorite Paralympic sports to photograph.

"It's unique in that it is one of only two Paralympic sports that do not have an Olympic counterpart," he said. "It's a game of strategy and accuracy. Here, Japan's Hiromi Endo's emotion is there for all to see and for us to photograph."

David Ramos described the Paralympic fencing team final match as "electric."

China won the team gold, while Great Britain took the silver.

"I aimed to capture a moment of intensity and precision in wheelchair fencing," Ramos said. "What struck me most was the contrast between the dynamic movements of the athletes and the stillness of their wheelchairs. This balance creates a compelling narrative of strength, determination, and resilience as both competitors challenge their limits to overcome their opponent."

Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo of Brazil showed off his personality after winning gold in the men's 100-meter backstroke.

"I had seen Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, and he was a star athlete with great personality, so I wanted to try to capture some of his emotions and reactions after his race," Pretty said.

Andy Lyons photographed a men's judo bronze-medal match between Ukraine and South Korea.

Davyd Khorava of Ukraine bested South Korea's Minjae Lee for the bronze medal.

"In Para judo, I wanted to show how dynamic the sport is, and so I wanted to see the athletes flying through the air and being taken down," Lyons said. "What makes it an interesting sport, I believe, is sometimes we think that everything needs to be really intense and tight and in the face, but in judo, it's all about arms and legs and heads and bodies and how they are all intertwined and flying through the air. This is the picture I was looking for to show both the intensity and beauty of these athletes — hurling themselves through the air onto the floor."

Shaw photographed Namibian runner Ananias Shikongo in sync with his guide during the men's 100-meter event.

"This was a picture that I had in my mind after the first day I saw the blind runners compete with their guides," Shaw said. "I was fascinated by the coordination between the two athletes."

Dean Mouhtaropoulos framed his photo of German shooter Natascha Hiltrop with the Paris 2024 logo in the background.

"Photographing shooting can be challenging," Mouhtaropoulos said. " The safety element means as photographers we aren't allowed near the target range or firing end of the competition. As the competitors are eliminated, space opens up and the gold medalist here, Natascha Hiltrop, framed up exactly where I hoped she would. With some lucky timing, I was able to get the firing rifle with the Paris 2024 logo."

Pretty captured "the moment of serenity before the action of the race started" at the men's 200-meter individual medley.

"This sort of moment reminds me of the feeling of weightlessness and freedom that you experience when diving into the water," Pretty said. "The reflection of the athletes also adds a nice creative element to the photo."

Naomi Baker said she enjoyed photographing David Smith of Great Britain competing in boccia with a patriotic hairstyle.

"David Smith is always a great athlete to photograph," Baker said. "He always has fun hairstyles, which adds more to an image. I wanted to make sure I had a clean background to showcase this, as well as his skill and precision. This is the first time I've ever photographed boccia and I really enjoyed capturing the talents of David Smith."

All three medalists in the women's 100-meter sprint celebrated together on the podium in this photo taken by Alex Davidson.

"Medal ceremonies are wonderful moments for competitors and spectators alike, but they can make relatively routine photos for sports photographers," Davidson said. "We expect more of a posed and formal presentation of the athletes. But when all three medalists celebrate together in a way that shows real emotion, it embodies the Paralympic spirit and why we all love sport."

Ramos took a photo of Luoyao Guo, a wheelchair tennis player from China, that also highlighted her wheelchair's tracks on the court.

"This photograph captures a wheelchair tennis player at the peak of the action," Ramos said. "The wide, overhead angle provides a unique perspective, emphasizing Luoyao Guo's movement and the intricate patterns of the wheelchair's tracks on the clay court."

He continued, "The composition centers the athlete while the textured background tells the story of the match, with the marks on the court indicating the intense movement and effort involved in each point played."

Shaw captured Wagner Astacio of the Dominican Republic mid-leap in the men's high-jump final.

Astacio placed fifth in the high-jump event.

"I find all high jumpers incredible," Shaw said. "To be able to jump over a bar higher than you is really impressive. And then you throw in the fact that some of these athletes only have one leg, it takes it to a whole other level of competition. I positioned myself in a place that would show Wagner Astacio jumping over the bar where you could see his level of athleticism and grit and how much power he executed."

Sawsen Ben Mbarek's intense concentration was evident during the women's shot-put final, photographed by Baker.

Ben Mbarek, a shot putter from Tunisia, placed seventh in the women's final.

"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 said. "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."

Baker also photographed German and Canadian players competing in a preliminary men's wheelchair basketball match.

"I love the full reach of the athlete in this image — being able to capture their skill is really important and showing the peak moment of the action," Baker said. "Basketball was really fun to cover and challenging to work with my camera on the ground to show a nicer angle like this one. Aliaksandr Halouski looks larger than life and the arena lights add a nice touch of drama to the photo."

Steph Chambers said rain added a "whole new dynamic" to the archery competition as the bows and arrows flicked water with each shot.

"And to add one more interesting element, it was funny to see Mariana Zuniga of Team Chile wearing sunglasses in the downpour," Chambers said. "Her facial expression and all-blue background really add to the photo, making her seem cool, calm, and collected."

Elsa's photo of sitting volleyball showed members of Team Canada and Team Rwanda fighting for the ball.

"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," Elsa said.

Chambers captured a fencing mishap during the men's sabre competition between Germany and Great Britain.

"Wheelchair fencing can feel repetitive when photographing. However, luck was on my side during the men's sabre category A gold medal bout when the sabre struck a piece of the German's mask equipment, creating this unique-looking photo," Chambers said. "The masks with country flags also add a creative element to shooting the competition."

Baker said that this image of New Zealand's Anna Grimaldi was one of her favorite images from the Paralympics.

Grimaldi won bronze in the women's 100-meter final.

"The sunset on this particular evening was stunning," Baker said. "It was hard to fully show it from my finish line position, but I placed my camera on the floor to show as much sky as possible with the athlete. I love how it all came together with the flag flowing in the wind and joy of the athlete."

Michael Steele's photo showed an enthusiastic French crowd celebrating Antoine Praud's bronze medal in the men's 1500-meter final.

"A highlight of the Paralympics has been the continued Parisian support, and any French medalist added to the crowd's fervor as shown in this frame during Antoine Praud's lap of honor," Steele said.

Evan Austin emerged from the water with a splash during the men's 200-meter individual medley photographed by Sean M. Haffey.

"The water created a pillow-like shape under his face, looking like he is floating," Haffey said.

Ramos described photographing men's cycling as "a very intense experience."

"I wanted to show the speed at which these athletes race around the oval," Ramos said. "For this photo, I positioned myself in the infield where the athletes warm up. From there, you can follow the racer almost 360 degrees. I chose a very slow shutter speed, one-tenth of a second, and I looked for a position that would allow me to frame a lot of interference and color elements, which when swept away, leave that trail of color that makes the image more powerful."

Ramos was "amazed" by how fast and intense wheelchair rugby is and said he was lucky to even get a shot of two players with the ball.

"Capturing this action shot presented several challenges, particularly due to the dynamic and unpredictable nature of wheelchair rugby," Ramos said. "I had to navigate constant movement and interference from other players, which could obstruct the view or distract from the key moment. The sport's fast pace means that players frequently collide, shift positions, and move rapidly across the court."

Haffey photographed Tully Kearney of Great Britain swimming her way to gold in the women's 100-meter freestyle.

"When you're photographing swimming, the water oftentimes creates patterns out of the ordinary splashes that can make a photo very creative," Haffey said. "This photo of Tully Kearney was at the start of the race, and I really like the way the water enveloped her, showing her forward movement."

Jack Shephard of Great Britain dove to the ground in a badminton match against China as Mouhtaropoulos snapped photos.

"With the new Canon cameras, the flip screen means new angles are possible," Mouhtaropoulos said. "This allows us to sit on the court with the camera on the ground and follow and frame up the action using more of the seats and roof, which are a darker background, as a backdrop, putting more emphasis on the athlete. The white shirt and shuttlecock now stand out more, filling the frame with the focus and strain on the face of Jack Shephard."

Pretty used a fast shutter speed to capture Yuyan Jiang of China and Ellie Marks of Team USA locked in a race for first.

Jiang ended up winning first place in the women's 50-meter freestyle. Marks came in second.

"I really like how she is breathing toward her competitor to check where she is positioned in the race," Pretty said of Jiang.

Photographer Graham Denholm noted Aida Husic Dahlen's "intensity and ferocity" during the women's table tennis doubles semifinal.

"I found the best angle with the cleanest background to isolate her and set out to capture that energy," Denholm said of composing this shot.

Elsa's photo of Australia's Paralympic cycling team shows their reflections in the glass of the stadium.

Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe, and Korey Boddington of Australia won the bronze medal in the 750-meter team sprint final.

"I noticed that when I stood in a certain spot, I could see the reflections in the glass as they rounded the first turn," Elsa said. "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. I framed it how I thought it would look best and waited for them to come around the turn."

Shaw photographed Team USA's Roderick Townsend celebrating his gold medal in the men's high jump final with a memorable hairstyle.

"As soon as Roderick Townsend walked out to the high jump area to compete, I knew I wanted a shot showing off his great hair," Shaw said.

Ramos said he was "completely captivated" while photographing a blind football match between Argentina and Colombia.

"Photographing blind football is about more than freezing action —it's about capturing the intense emotion and teamwork of the game," Ramos said. "In this shot, four players, all wearing eye masks, tussle for the ball on a vibrant blue field. I chose an elevated angle to showcase their dynamic interaction, emphasizing their focus and physicality. A high shutter speed helped freeze the moment, revealing every detail of their struggle for control. The contrast between the colorful uniforms and the field draws attention to the players' effort."

Steele photographed Beatriz Hatz of Team USA as she won bronze in the women's long jump.

"Team USA athlete Beatriz Hatz had a very personal technique by jumping sideways, and her flying hair and glitter makeup added to an unusual yet stunning photo," Steele said.

Chambers captured Zakia Khudadadi's elation as she became the first Refugee Paralympic Team medalist in the history of the Games.

Khudadadi competed in Taekwondo on the official refugee team of the Paralympics and won the bronze medal.

"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," Chambers said. "Little did I know that her coach would do most of the celebrating and parading of her! 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."

Pretty tried a new photography style while documenting the women's 100-meter butterfly race.

Carlotta Gilli of Italy won the gold medal.

"For this picture of Carlotta Gilli, I was trying to use a novelty lens just to try something I had never done before," Pretty said. "I was really fortunate that she was wearing a nice bright race suit and was perfectly centered in the frame, as with this sort of shot, you need everything to line up nice and perfect."

Some Getty Images photos of major Paralympic events were projected onto buildings throughout Paris during the Games.

"Parisienne Projections is a Getty Images project which displays the heroics and tragedies of Olympic and Paralympic competitions throughout the host city of Paris, which was originally conceived and executed for the 2024 Paris Olympics," Davidson said. "Each night, we attempted to marry major events of the day with an appropriate location in Paris for the projection."

On August 30, a photo of Jincheng Guo, a swimmer from China, was projected onto Paris La Defense Arena , where swimmers had competed earlier in the day.

Another Parisienne Projections display showed a photo of France's Aurelie Aubert winning a gold medal in women's individual boccia.

" After experiencing two Olympic Games with minimal public participation due to pandemic restrictions, we felt a strong desire to reconnect the host city with the athletes, the actions, and the emotions unfolding daily in the stadiums and venues," Ramos said.

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