Brother and sister Matthew and Rebecca Redfern from Droitwich set for Paralympics
The opening ceremony took place yesterday
Last updated 29th Aug 2024
The Paralympics gets underway today in Paris, with the opening ceremony taking place last night to officially start things.
215 athletes will represent Paralympics GB across 19 sports, with around 4,400 athletes in total taking part in France.
Droitwich swimmer Rebecca Redfern is set to be involved in her third games, after winning silver in both Rio and Tokyo in the 100-metre breaststroke, with her brother Matthew also making his debut at the event.
Rebecca gave birth to her son prior to Tokyo, and says it's going to be a completely new experience for her this time around having both him and her brother there supporting her.
She said: "For Rio I don't think I really understood how much of a massive thing it really is, so I didn't really take it all in, and Tokyo was also very different so, Paris is just going to be amazing.
"The last three years have been full of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but I think we're in a really comfortable place now.
"I've been hitting some good times, and I think that we both know all that hard work is behind us and that I can go into Paris with a really good swim."
Both siblings train at Worcester Swimming Club under their coach Mark Stowe.
Matthew says Mark's coaching has had a real impact on both of their careers, and he's looking forward to making his debut.
"I don't think we could've made it to the point we're at without Mark," he said.
"He has been one of the best influencers on us, both personally and professionally, so a big shout out to him for all he's done for us.
"From my point of view with it being my debut, I just want to come away from Paris with it being a positive experience and look back on it in years to come and say that I did all I could to make it a positive experience."
The games conclude on the 8 September.