Paralympics 2024: Two paddlers transition from Olympics to Paralympics

Australia’s Melissa Tapper and Brazil’s Bruna Alexandre are set to compete in the 2024 Summer Paralympics in table tennis right after taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Tapper, 34, was born with brachial plexus palsy, which has affected her right arm. Meanwhile, Alexandre, 29, had her right arm amputated due to a blood clot she encountered as an infant.

During the Olympics, Tapper faced early exits, losing her round of 64 match against South Korea’s Shin and the Round of 16 Team event against Taiwan.

Alexandre also saw her Olympic journey cut short in the round of 16 team event against South Korea.

Tapper will compete in both the Women’s Singles (Individual C10) and Mixed Doubles (XD 17) events. She previously won the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Alexandre will also participate in the Women’s Singles (Individual C10) and Mixed Doubles (XD 17) for Brazil.

The C10 classification is for athletes who compete while standing and have mild impairments.

The XD 17 event is a mixed doubles category, where the "17" represents a combination of two different classifications, such as SL3 (lower limb impairment affecting one or both legs) and SL4 (milder limb impairment compared to SL3).

Bruna, who made her Olympic debut, will now be making her Paralympic debut, while this will be the third consecutive appearance for Tapper in both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Both the paddlers cite Poland’s Natalia Partyka as their inspiration, who won consecutive Paralympic singles gold medals in table tennis.

Partyka is another paddler who has competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics, having done so at the 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games, and 2016 Rio Games and is about to compete in her seventh Paralympics in Paris.