What to know about Day 1 of the Paralympics: How to watch, top events Thursday

Following Wednesday's Paralympic opening ceremony, Thursday will mark the first day of action for the 2024 Paralympic Games, which will last through Sept. 8. 

The day will feature intense competition, with 22 medals up for grabs across multiple sports — four in cycling, 15 in swimming and three in taekwondo.

Several team sports will also begin group-stage play. At 7:30 a.m. ET, Team USA’s mixed-gender wheelchair rugby team will face Canada, where Sarah Adam is poised to make history as the first woman to represent Team USA in the sport at the Paralympic Games.

The U.S. men’s basketball team will also begin its quest for a third consecutive gold medal with its opening game against Spain at 10 a.m. ET. 

Teenaged pair Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon will also begin their medal quest for Team USA in the badminton mixed doubles, taking on the Indian pair Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre Sivan at 3:10 a.m. ET. 

2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.

How to watch the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games

Just like the Olympics, the Paralympic Games will be broadcast across NBC’s networks, with many events shown on USA Network. The Paralympic Games can also be streamed on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, the official Paralympic YouTube channel and the International Paralympic Committee website. 

2024 Paris Paralympics TV schedule for Thursday

(All times Eastern)

USA NETWORK:

5 a.m.-6:05 a.m.: Swimming – Qualifying Heats (LIVE)

6:15 a.m.-7:30 a.m.: Men’s Wheelchair Basketball – Great Britain vs. Germany

7:30 a.m.-9:15 a.m.: Wheelchair Rugby – United States vs. Canada (LIVE)

9:15 a.m.-10 a.m.: Cycling – Track Qualifying

10 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: Men’s Wheelchair Basketball – United States vs. Spain (LIVE)

11:45 a.m.-2:50 p.m.: Swimming – Finals (LIVE)

3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Badminton – Qualifying Round

3:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m.: Wheelchair Rugby – Qualifying Round

4:15 p.m.-5 p.m.: Best of Day 1

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.