Discover the most original masks of blind athletes, from the butterfly to Wonder Woman

Messages of encouragement, cat ears and even a butterfly… As the athletics events of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games began on Friday, August 30 at the Stade de France, visually impaired or blind para-athletes put on a show on the track, thanks to their sometimes daring masks.

In categories T11 to T13 and F11 to F13, which include athletes with a visual impairment, all competitors must have their eyes covered at all times by a mask that “blocks out light completely”under penalty of disqualification, details the regulations of the International Para-Athletics Federation. A way of guaranteeing total fairness between athletes whose handicap may be more or less severe.

A regulatory point which also offers para-athletes who wish to do so a space to express their style, as for the Italian Arjola Dedaj, who has made it a trademark, and has left her mark with her blue butterfly. Here are the most remarkable masks observed during this first day of competition.