One month on from the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games we chat to the NZ Paralympic Team Chef de Mission Raylene Bates to share her thoughts on one of the most memorable Games in the history of the Paralympic Movement.
Raylene Bates looks back with immense pride on the performance of the NZ Paralympic Team at Paris 2024. From the display by the 24 athletes donning the fern to the wider support staff – the Team unquestionably delivered across a rip-roaring 11 days of competition which will linger long in the memory.
For Dunedin-based Raylene – whose day job is Athletics NZ High Performance Programme Para Lead and Regional Development Manager (South Island) – the role was a privilege which brought about a heap of learnings and many cherished memories.
“It was a very different experience as Chef, but I really enjoyed working with the athletes and the wider team.
“As Chef you need to have your finger on the pulse in terms of how best you can support the team. Every decision was made through a performance lens, even if this meant thinking outside the square.”
With the Team achieving nine medals, one Paralympic record, four Oceania records, 11 national records, 12 PB’s and 32 top eight finishes there was no shortage of memorable moments in the French capital.
Raylene accepts that rising global standards were very apparent. Athletics alone witnessed more than 40 world records and consequently Paris 2024 was without question the highest-quality Games in history but despite the intense competition she says: “I thought the NZ Paralympic Team did well. A total of 38 per cent of the Team won a medal, 12 PBs were set and to achieve those results at a pinnacle event was outstanding.”
“As I said before the Games, there would always be athletes who would set a PB who may not medal and other athletes who medalled, but who did not set a PB, that is sport. The Paralympic Games is an even more demanding environment than a World Championships. Athletes are competing against the best of the best.”
While the NZ Paralympic Team provided numerous dazzling memories in a range of sports at Paris 2024, Raylene prefers to focus on a personal highlight away from the white-hot furnace of Paralympic competition.
“There were so many highlights but in terms of performance it would be unfair of me to single out one moment. For me, the highlight was the work the support Team put in to get the New Zealand Team allotment including the Team lounge, performance support areas and apartments ready,” she says. “It was a huge effort, and I was immensely proud of the work done by all.”
With more than two million Kiwis tuning into coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on TVNZ and its various channels, Raylene was delighted by the high levels of engagement and support the Team received both in Paris and back home in Aotearoa New Zealand. In fact, Raylene believes the Team are poised to kick on leading into Los Angeles 2028.
“It is always hard to predict what will happen in future, but we have a depth of talent in New Zealand,” she says. “The NSO’s need to work together with key stakeholders, including High Performance Sport New Zealand and Paralympics NZ to ensure we are capturing the right talent and giving people the opportunities to flourish.”
There is little doubt, however, that following Paris 2024, Raylene believes the Paralympic Movement is in a far stronger position than prior to the Games.
“Andrew Parsons (President of the IPC) said the Paris 2024 organising committee nailed it and they took the Games to the next level by utilising the city, its incredible landmarks and enabling the general public to be a huge part of the Games.
“Walking up the Champs Elysees for the Opening Ceremony was an unbelievable experience, and I get emotional just talking about it,” she said. “To have the public so close and so supportive was incredible – they were so excited you would have believed the crowd were Kiwi and not French. The way the organising committee embraced the wider public to be part of the event helped elevate the Games to the next level.”
