Paralympic Games get started in Rio

Rio de Janeiro hosted its second Olympic opening ceremony of the summer last night when it officially kicked off the 2016 Paralympic Games. The event will feature 4,350 athletes competing in almost every sport—from archery to swimming to track and field events. Teams from 159 nations will participate in the games. As in last month’s Olympic Games, refugees from several different countries made up their own team. Russian athletes are conspicuously absent: Claims of state-sponsored doping got the country’s entire team banned. Last night’s ceremony featured themes of overcoming insurmountable odds and amazing feats by athletes too often overlooked because of their disabilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.