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The world's largest celebration of athletes with disabilities kicked off today in Paris with a festive opening ceremony including the usual mix of live performers, music and official protocols. 

For the parade of nations, more than 4,000 athletes from 180-plus delegations marched along the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, where they took part in a show designed by Olympic ceremonies director Thomas Jolly.

The Iranian delegation included 8-foot-1 Morteza Mehrzad, the second-tallest person alive and the tallest ever to compete in the Paralympics. He helped Iran win back-to-back gold medals in men's sitting volleyball in 2016 and 2021 and is a three-time world player of the year.

Canada's flag was carried by wheelchair basketball player Pat Anderson and swimmer Katarina Roxon, who have a combined 11 Paralympic appearances between them. They were selected from a team of 126 Canadian athletes who will compete in 18 of the 22 sports taking place over the next 11 days.

Canada has some strong medal contenders on the 1st day of competition

Here are the leading candidates on Thursday, in chronological order:

Track cycling: Kate O'Brien in the women's C4-5 500m time trial final at 9:45 a.m. ET

Assuming she gets through the qualifying round at 6 a.m. ET, O'Brien will have a shot at winning gold in the final. The former bobsledder and Olympic cyclist, who turned to Para cycling after a devastating 2017 crash on the velodrome left her with a serious brain injury, won the world title in the C4 500m time trial in 2020 and took silver in this event at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. O'Brien was also the runner-up at the 2022 and '23 world championships before placing fifth this year.

Canada's Keely Shaw is also competing in this event. She finished ninth at this year's worlds, where she took bronze in the individual pursuit.

Swimming: Shelby Newkirk in the women's 50m freestyle S6 final at 1:19 p.m. ET

The second-time Paralympian will try for her first Paralympic medal after taking bronze in this event at last year's world championships, where she also repeated as the 100m backstroke gold medallist.

To qualify for the final, Newkirk must advance through the heats at 11:03 a.m. ET.

Swimming: Aurélie Rivard in the women's 50m freestyle S10 final at 1:47 p.m. ET

Rivard, 28, owns 10 Paralympic medals — one behind 44-year-old wheelchair track star Brent Lakatos for tops among Canadians in Paris. There's a good chance she matches Lakatos right away, as Rivard has won the last two world titles in the 50m freestyle S10. She took gold in this event at the 2016 Paralympics and bronze in 2021 in Tokyo, where she racked up five medals — two gold, a silver and two bronze.

Thursday's women's 50m freestyle S10 competition begins with the heats at 11:18 a.m. ET. Here's more on Rivard.

WATCH | Rivard's 1st race among events to watch on Thursday:

Aurélie Rivard makes #Paris2024 debut and Canada vs. USA in wheelchair Rugby | Rise and Stream

It's Day 1 of the Paralympics and you can watch 5-time Paralympic medallist Aurélie Rivard, Para cyclists Kate O'Brien & Keely Shaw. Plus, Team Canada vs. Team USA in wheelchair rugby. Catch all the action on CBC Gem.

Other Canadians to watch on Thursday

Boccia: Alison Levine in the women's individual BC4 event

The No. 2-ranked athlete in her category is appearing in her third Paralympics but has yet to win a medal after failing to advance past the preliminary stage in Tokyo. Levine's chances look better than ever, though, after she took gold at the 2023 Parapan American Games and won two other global singles tournaments.

Levine opens group play on Thursday with a pair of matches, at 6:50 a.m. ET and 1:20 p.m. ET. She's also a top contender in mixed pairs, starting Sept. 3, with teammate Iulian Ciobanu. They won gold together at last year's Parapan Am Games. Ciobanu is also competing in the men's individual BC4 event, beginning Thursday.

Wheelchair rugby: Canada vs. the United States at 7:30 a.m. ET

Also known as murderball because of the violent collisions that can happen, wheelchair rugby is a mixed event at the Paralympics. Canada has never won gold, but it played for a medal at each of the first six Games where the sport appeared, winning three silvers and a bronze while finishing fourth twice. The streak ended in 2021 when Canada failed to reach the four-team knockout stage before beating France in the fifth-place match.

In Paris, Canada will face the U.S., Japan and Germany in the group stage, with the top two advancing to the semifinals. The Americans took silver at the 2021 Paralympics and at the most recent world championship, losing to Great Britain and Australia in the respective finals. The Japanese won bronze at both events.

Canada is led by Zak Madell, considered one of the top players in the world. He ranked second in scoring at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

Women's wheelchair basketball: Canada vs. China at 12:15 p.m. ET

Canada looks like a fringe medal contender after placing fifth at the past two Paralympic Games as well as the most recent world championship, in 2022. China took silver at the 2021 Paralympics and the 2022 worlds, falling to the Netherlands in the final at each event. The U.S. took bronze in both.

Canada's other group-stage opponents are Great Britain and Spain. The top two move on to the semifinals.

Kady Dandeneau is Canada's top player. She averaged more than 25 points per game in Canada's last-chance Paralympic qualifying tournament in April.

Other Canadian teams playing Thursday include the women's goalball team vs. France at 8:45 a.m. ET and the top-ranked women's sitting volleyball team vs. Slovenia at noon ET.

More on the Paralympics

If you're wondering what C4, S10, BC4 and other such event designations mean, they're disability classifications. Here's a handy guide to how they work in each sport. Classification can be a controversial aspect of the Paralympics, with some athletes even accused of "class doping." Read more about the fraught system in this story by CBC Sports' Myles Dichter. 

If you missed Tuesday's newsletter, here's our primer on the Paralympics with some fun facts about the Canadian team.

For more stories, video and live streams, visit CBC Sports' Paris 2024 website and Paris 2024 app.

How to watch the Paralympics

Starting Thursday on the CBC TV network, CBC Gem and CBC Sports' Paris 2024 website and app, you can watch the action in Paris via three daily live shows: Petro-Canada Paris Prime, hosted by Scott Russell, at 2 p.m. ET; Toyota Paralympic Games Primetime, hosted by Russell and Stef Reid, at 8 p.m. in your local time zone; and Canadian Tire Paralympics Tonight, hosted by Devin Heroux and Roseline Filion, at 11:30 p.m. local.

Digital coverage will also include daily episodes of Rise and Stream, highlighting the must-see events and Canadians to follow, and Hot Takes, featuring interviews with athletes and analysts. Both shows are available on the Paris 2024 site and on CBC Sports' YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and X. Here's more on CBC's Paralympics coverage.