'WHO I AM Paralympics' TV series comes back strong for 2024

Since 2016, the series has featured more than 40 Para athletes from more than 25 countries in their respective journeys to Paralympic Games 20 Oct 2023

A male wheelchair tennis player hits a ball.

17 year-old Tokida Oda will feature in the first episode of WHO I AM Paralympics, to be broadcasted and stream in January 2024.

ⒸLintao Zhang/ Getty Images

By IPC & WOWOW

The TV series WHO I AM, which focuses on the brilliance of diverse individuals from all over the world, and its version WHO I AM Paralympics, keeps gaining ground and its ready to start a new season next January.

The first two episodes will feature Japanese Tokita Oda, who made remarkable leaps in 2023 by achieving the youngest Grand Slam victory in wheelchair tennis history and attaining the world No. 1 ranking, and Italian Ambra Sabatini, who set a world record and won a gold medal in the women's 100m at Tokyo 2020. Both are expected to be big names in Paris 2024.

"WHO I AM Series" has been broadcast and distributed since 2016 as a collaboration between the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Japanese broadcaster WOWOW and has received acclaim not only in Japan but abroad. It followed the journey of Para athletes to Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

More than 40 names from 25 countries have appeared in the WHO I AM series. Some of them are Daniel Dias (Brazil), Elena Krawzow (Germany), Salum Ageze Kashafali (Norway) and Beatrice Vio (Italy), among many other Paralympians.

Vio's episode, named The Golden Phoenix, was even nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2018.

A female athlete competing in wheelchair fencing — Bebe Vio's episode in WHO I AM, named The Golden Phoenix, was nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2018. @Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

After Tokyo 2020, the continued success and acclaim of the series pushed to create a second installment called WHO I AM LIFE, profiling artists, musicians, creators, and other individuals active on the frontlines of the entertainment world, transcending the boundaries of sports.

Consequently, the original series was rebranded as WHO I AM Paralympics.

Back in 2022, when the partnership between IPC and WOWOW was extended until the end of 2024, IPC’S president Andrew Parsons stated: "I look forward to seeing this partnership flourish and expand into new areas, including the award-winning WeThe15 movement, which aspires to be the biggest human rights movement to represent the 1.2 billion persons with disabilities who make up 15% of the world's population.”

For the start of 2024, the lineup for "WHO I AM LIFE" features a musician from Guinea Sidiki Conde and Austrian stage actor Yuria Knoll.

Both of the series are broadcasted and streamed for free in Japan.