Paris 2024 Paralympics: One year to go - Will Bayley expects Games to be 'one of best ever'
- Published
Bayley lost out to Chinese rival Yan Shuo in four sets in the Class 7 final in Tokyo
Paralympic table tennis gold medallist Will Bayley is confident next year's Paris Games will be a spectacular event.
Monday marks one year to go to the start of the event which will run from 28 August to 8 September in the French capital.
The 35-year-old is hoping to compete in his fifth Games and add to his gold and three silver medals.
"I am expecting it to be one of the best Games ever," he told BBC Sport.
"For me, London set the benchmark for the Paralympics. I think it was absolutely incredible and to play in front of a home crowd like that with the atmosphere the fans created was unique and spectacular.
"But I believe Paris will be up there as well as one of the best for atmosphere. They are a very proud country and it will be a great and special Paralympics."
The Brighton-based player is preparing for the European Championships at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from 4-9 September, as he bids to add the European title to his world crown.
Bayley won gold in Rio and claimed individual and team silver at the rearranged Tokyo Games in 2021 after recovering from a serious injury sustained while competing in TV show Strictly Come Dancing in 2019.
"I have learned so much from my Paralympic experiences," he added. "On my debut in Beijing I lost almost every match, at London 2012 I got to the final when I wasn't expected to, and lost. You learn a hell of a lot from a loss like that.
"Then in Rio I got to another final and won, before Tokyo where I lost in both finals.
"At the moment, I feel like I am a better player than I have ever been and I feel more relaxed than I have ever been going into a Paralympic year.
"I know my game inside out and my strategies and what mindset I need to be in, and I know a lot about the game and the players I will play, so I just have to keep it going and keep the ball rolling.
"I have been unbeaten since Tokyo, which is a great achievement, so I want to keep that going as long as possible."
Bayley has always thrived on energy from the crowd, and after Tokyo took place behind closed doors he is looking forward to support both in Sheffield and in France next year.
"It suits my game for there to be a crowd there," he continued.
"Tokyo was tough because I started so well in the final. It was probably my best start and I believe the crowd might have started to get involved and maybe I would have pulled away, but without a crowd there isn't that atmosphere.
"But I am just as hungry as ever to win and I think I'm lucky because that mindset is natural for me. That competitive instinct has never gone and that is why I am still playing and motivated to win."
Who will be in action for Great Britain in Paris?
GB had a team of more than 220 athletes competing in 19 sports in Tokyo, finishing second in the medal table behind China with 124 medals - 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.
A similar-sized team is expected for Paris, but the final make-up will not be confirmed until July 2024.
Sarah Storey won gold medals on the track and on the road in Tokyo
Tokyo medallists including cyclist Sarah Storey, who already has a record 17 Paralympic gold medals and would be competing at her ninth Games, wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, swimmer Maisie Summers-Newton and equestrian riders Lee Pearson and Sophie Wells will all be hoping to add to their medal hauls in France.
"I can say with absolute confidence we will have spine-tingling medal moments every day and be doing all we can to empower athletes to achieve personal-best medal-winning performances at Paris 2024," said ParalympicsGB chef de mission Penny Briscoe.
The qualification period is open and GB have already obtained spots across a number of sports, including most recently for the Para-canoeists at the weekend's World Championships in Duisburg and the men's and women's wheelchair basketball team who won gold and silver at the European Championships.
The Games will feature 4,400 athletes competing in 549 events across 22 sports, with 2.8 million tickets due to go on sale on 9 October on a first-come first-served basis.
The 22 sports are unchanged from the Tokyo programme where badminton and taekwondo made their debuts.
After the Rio Paralympics was in danger of being cancelled because of financial issues and the Tokyo Games was affected by the pandemic, there is pressure on Paris to ensure the Paralympic movement continues to progress.
"I think in France they are still discovering Paralympic sport," International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons told BBC Sport during July's Para Athletics World Championships in Paris.
"They have some household names in terms of athletes but the Paralympic movement can still grow a lot in the country.
"There is a strong foundation to build on, but we need support from the media and the French population. I think the Games are coming to this country at the right moment to be a catalyst and an accelerator, not just for the Paralympic movement but also for people with disabilities in general.
"There's still a long way to go when it comes to the promotion and rights of people with disability inclusion and for Paralympic sport, but the Games will help to do that."
High hopes for hosts
France are set to field their biggest team of between 220 and 240 athletes as they aim to improve on their 14th-place finish in Tokyo, where they won 55 medals, including 11 golds.
Among their stars are cyclists Florian Jouanny, Alexandre Leaute and Heidi Gauguin who all won gold medals at the recent World Championships in Glasgow.
Triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant is unbeaten since the Tokyo test event in August 2019, and maintained that record at the recent test event in Paris.
Hanquinquant was a French combat sport champion before a work accident in 2010 led to his leg being amputated
While the athletics team struggled at the Worlds, failing to win a gold medal on home soil, the swimming team fared better at their Worlds in Manchester, claiming four golds.
Hopes are high that the likes of visually impaired star Alex Portal, who won three golds in Manchester, his younger brother Kylian and Ugo Didier can enjoy success in the La Defense Arena.
Didier, who won silver and bronze in Tokyo, told BBC Sport the French capital was announced as host two days after his 16th birthday, changing the course of his life.
"It is going to be super-exciting and I'm sure that when we come out on to poolside and hear the noise of the French fans and see the flags, it will be motivating," he said.
"We know we will have the support of our family and friends, but the French crowd will also be with us. The nation is waiting for medals and there is pressure for us as athletes, but also for the coaching staff as well.
"But it is a real honour to have the Olympic and Paralympic Games at home."
Can he ever give up looking for his missing son? James Nesbitt stars in a tense drama about the aftermath of a child's disappearance
Behind the scenes in London's most expensive hotel: It costs up to £27k a night and no request is too big...
