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Paralympic debut

Basketball for intellectually disabled begins Thursday

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The Paralympics kicked off Wednesday in Sydney. AP

By Luba Vangelova, Special to CNNSI.com

Thursday marks not only the start of competition at the 11th Paralympic Games, but also the debut of a new Paralympic medal sport, basketball for the intellectually disabled.

It joins the enduringly popular wheelchair basketball, which happens to be one of the other five sports that kicks off tomorrow (the others are track cycling, judo, shooting and table tennis).

The first gold medal of the Games will be awarded in women's air rifle shooting.

The track cycling competition will include the qualifying rounds of the men's and mixed tandems, which feature blind or visually impaired cyclists teamed with able-bodied cyclists; this is the only Paralympic event in which an able-bodied athlete can earn a medal.

Storylines

Wide-open field The United States men's wheelchair basketball team replaced the Australian team as the world number one in 1998. Both countries begin pool competition on Thursday; the U.S. plays South Africa; Australia plays Japan. But the field is wide open; five nations are considered gold medal contenders. Family affair The Australian husband-and-wife cycling team of Kerry and Kieran Modra will be competing in the mixed tandem individual pursuit track cycling event, for which the qualifying rounds begin on Thursday. Kerry is currently four months pregnant. (The couple won the gold medal in the mixed tandem sprint in Atlanta.) Gold rush Medals will be awarded in the following sports Thursday: Cycling (track) -- mixed 1km time trials (three categories) Judo -- men's extra lightweight, up to 60kg; men's half lightweight, up to 66kg Shooting -- women's 10m air rifle standing; men's 10m air rifle standing On the spot Australia's Libby Kosmala will try to win the first gold medal of these Games, in the women's 10m standing air rifle, in front of a home crowd. The nine-time gold medalist will have to get past Great Britain's Deanna Coates, who won this event in Atlanta.   Related information Stories The XIth Paralympic Games Officially Open Multimedia Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV. Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.