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Paris’ Paralympic Mascot Has A Very Cool Detail You May Have Missed

A Phryge — the mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
A Phryge — the mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Marc Atkins via Getty Images

The 2024 Paris Olympics’ mascot may have been mocked, but here’s hoping the Paralympics’ version gets a tad more love.

During Wednesday’s opening ceremony, French organizers wanted everyone who was watching to be well aware that the Phryges — the smiling, red revolutionary hats that some feel resemble a part of the female anatomy — were back for the Paralympic games by having a car decorated with oodles of them drive up during the opening performance.

The Phryge car during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games.
The Phryge car during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. Kevin Voigt via Getty Images

Despite the backlash that the Phryges received during the Paris Olympic Games, social media users on X, formerly Twitter, were stoked by their over-the-top reintroduction at the Paralympic Games — albeit, some expressed their joy a bit sarcastically.

But before you decide to engage in some Phryges bashing 2.0, you may want to take a gander at their slight — and very cool — redesign for the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic Phryge has a prosthesis and a racing blade so it can act as “a role model for many” and provide “maximum visibility to people with disabilities,” per the Paris Olympics official site.

The Paralympics Phryge.
The Paralympics Phryge. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN via Getty Images

The doll version of the Paralympic Phryges goes a step further with its inclusivity.

“Under the sole of the shoe, Paris 2024 is written in braille to showcase the importance of accessibility,” the official Paralympic site says.

And it appears that the message in braille also appears under the foot with the blade — at least according to somesocial media posts.

The thoughtful details also nail down the idea that disabled Phryges aren’t that much different from non-disabled Phryges.

An Olympic Phryge and a Paralympic Phryge — who look a whole lot alike.
An Olympic Phryge and a Paralympic Phryge — who look a whole lot alike. BERTRAND GUAY via Getty Images

And much like Olympic Phryges and non-disabled Olympians, the Paralympic Phryges seem to be just as ardent about the Olympic Village’s now famous chocolate muffins — and what bridges differences more than that?

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