Paris, France — After last night’s opening ceremony, the 2024 Paralympic Games are officially underway. Medals were up for grabs all day, and that will remain the case over the next ten days of competition as well.

Team USA’s very early medal count is three- all silver.

The first American medal of the 2024 Paralympic Games belongs to Ellie Marks. The women’s S6 50M freestyle swimmer took home silver with a time of 32.90 seconds; China’s Jiang Yuyan swam a Paralympic record 32.59 seconds to claim gold. Marks has four more events to compete in over the next ten days.

Marks wasn’t the only American swimmer to medal Thursday. Christie Raleigh-Crossley qualified for the women’s S10 50M freestyle with a world record 27.28 seconds. Her mark only lasted a few hours. China’s Chen Yi swam a 27.10 to take home gold in the finals. Raleigh-Crossley put up a 27.38 and comfortable brought home silver.

Grace Nuhfer followed with a silver of her own. The first-time Paralympian swam a 1:03.88 in the women’s S13 100M Butterfly, less than a second behind gold medalist Carlotta Gilli of Italy. Nuhfer has two events remaining in Paris.

In table tennis, Tahl Leibovitz and Ian Seidenfeld were defeated by Chaodong Liu and Yinqing Zao from China in MD18 doubles. The American duo’s time as a pair in Paris is over, but they will both compete in singles play beginning on Sunday.

In track cycling, Samantha Bosco and Shawn Morelli both raced in the Women’s C4-5 500M time trial, finishing 12th and 13th respectively. Meanwhile, Branden Walton and pilot Spencer Seggebruch came in sixth in the Men’s B 4000M individual pursuit. None of these athletes advanced to the finals, but all of them have other events coming up while in Paris.

Wheelchair Rugby took care of business in its opener against Canada, claiming a 51-48 victory. But the Americans’ victory was far from the only noteworthy accomplishment. Sarah Adam became the first woman to compete on Team USA’s Paralympic wheelchair rugby team, notching six tries.

“It’s always been important to me that I’m going to be a contributor to this team and be seen as any other athlete,” said Adam. “I think I was able to prove that today.”

Wheelchair Men’s Basketball survived a gutsy effort from Spain in a 66-56 victory. Jake Williams paced the Americans with 22 points and seven assists. The USA is back in action in its second of three group play games against the Netherlands on Saturday at 4:00 French Time.

Two American Badminton players saw varied results. Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon won their Mixed Doubles SH6 match, but both lost a singles match in Men’s and Women’s SH6 respectively. Both Krajewski and Simon return to action on Friday.

PHOTO OF THE DAY:

ON FRIDAY:

Five American athletes are competing in multiple track cycling events, while five more take their stab at multiple para rowing events. Women’s wheelchair basketball makes its 2024 Paralympic debut against Germany. Ten wheelchair athletes compete in five different Athletics events at Stade de France. At Roland-Garros, Dana Mathewson and Maylee Phelps debut as a doubles pairing in wheelchair tennis while Connor Stroud begins his quest for singles gold. And Wheelchair Rugby goes for two wins in two days against Japan.

Check out the Wheelchair Sports Federation Media page for constant coverage throughout the 2024 Paralympic Games.