The Summer Paralampic Games in Japan are officially open. Eder and Matzinger carried the Austrian flag.
The Tokyo Paralympic Games have officially started. At 10:08 p.m. local time, Japan's Emperor Naruhito declared the XIV Summer Games to be open on Tuesday in the Olympic Stadium. Due to the pandemic, the ceremony took place without an audience. IOC President Thomas Bach returned to Tokyo 16 days after the end of the Olympic Games especially for the celebration.
The Paralympic Team Austria marched into the stadium as the 31st nation, the flag bearers were javelin thrower Natalija Eder and triathlete Günther Matzinger. “I can't believe we're actually here,” said Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), referring to the one-year postponement. “From tomorrow on, Paralympic athletes will start changing the world again.”
