There is a ferocious battle for supremacy between The Elements and The Organisers. No matter what The Elements literally rain down on their foes, The Organisers say they will prevail. But at what cost? Why can't they all just work together?
Ply me a river
The triathlon scheduled for Day 4 was postponed because of dirty water in the Seine. In the Seine? Yes. What the Olympic and Paralympic summer of sport has lacked is someone to sit down by a water treatment centre and sing à la Paul Robeson an ode to the River Seine. A clean flow spiritual? It might charm The Elements to stop slinging stuff down from the heavens to mess up the honed logistics of The Organisers. The River Seine can't cope with rain because it means lots of grubby things from the beleaguered drains down here on planet Earth flow into the river. The Organisers know this. They have been well aware of this throughout the organisation of the Games. But they have wanted to use the Seine because it runs through the centre of Paris and provides lots of picture opportunities during the race. The Paralympics is about the Paralympians, The Organisers say.
Medal target
Emotional scenes at the para badminton at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena following the semi-final defeat of Mariam Eniola Bolaji from Nigeria. In tears, she showed a picture of her former coach Bello Rafiu Oyebanji who was killed in a traffic accident as she prepared for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. Bolaji, 18, will attempt to win bronze on Day 5 when she takes on Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine.
Pride in the fall
Soon after her loss, Mariam Eniola Bolaji spoke to the review. On the verge of more tears, she said that she would learn from her defeat. Would coach Oyebanji be proud of her? A pause and the flicker of a smile. "I am playing good. He would be proud of me."
Busy main man
The defending champion in the men's SL4 category Lucas Mazur looked composed and in control of his para badminton semi-final against Fredy Setiawan from Indonesia. The 25-year-old Frenchman won it 21-13, 21-8 to the joy of the partisans at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. And Mazur will need that backing on Day 5 when he takes on the top seed Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj in the final. That's after he goes for bronze with Faustine Noel in the mixed doubles against the Thai pair Siripong Teamarrom and Nipada Seansupa.
Ride of redemption
Can see the film coming here. Kadeena Cox from Britain crashed during the final of the C4-5 500m time trial on Day 1. She was one of the favourites for the top prize and was understandably distraught. However, with Jody Cundy and Jaco van Gass, she won the final race of the track cycling programme, the C1-5 750m team sprint. Theirs was one of 12 gold medals for the British delegation on the day to sit well behind China in the medals table with 23 golds among the 43 medals.
