The Rio Paralympic Opening Ceremony started and ended with nods to athletes who are wheelchair users at the Maracanã on Wednesday night.
Clodoaldo Silva, a 12-time Brazilian Paralympic medalist swimmer believed to be competing in his final Games, lit the cauldron to ignite the competition that will run through Sept. 18.
Silva, a wheelchair user, received the flame as rain fell, faced a flight of stairs and turned to the large crowd as if to say, “What do I do now?”
Then a staircase opened revealing ramps for Silva to use to reach the cauldron.