Belgians heading to the Tokyo Paralympics
The Paralympic Games will take place in Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September, and Belgium is sending 32 athletes. During these games, 160 countries will compete in 22 disciplines, two of them new, namely badminton and taekwondo.
Our athletes will compete for Belgium in para-athletics, wheelchair tennis, table tennis, archery, swimming, para-cycling, para-riding/dressage and goalball (a ball sport played only by visually impaired people).
The flag-bearers are 37-year-old goalball team captain Bruno Vanhove, the 2018 world bronze medallist, and 47-year-old rider Michèle George, a three-time Paralympic dressage champion.
The Belgians brought home 11 medals from the previous Paralympic Games in Rio - 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze.
Congratulations to the athletes for their hard work in reaching this level of competition; we are sure that their efforts will be rewarded with a host of medals. A goal of ten medals seems both ambitious and realistic.