Goalball is unique to Paralympic sports – a fast, skillful game without an Olympic counterpart in which visually impaired players seek to score by throwing balls into a goal defended by the other team.
Remarkably, considering that the ball weighs 1.25kg (roughly 2.75 pounds) and is about the same size as a basketball, the best players in the world can throw it as fast as 60 kph (about 37.3 mph).
So how do they do this, how is the sport played and who are the favorites at the Paris Paralympic Games?
How is it played?
First invented in 1946 as a way to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during World War II, goalball has become a regular feature at the Paralympic Games ever since its 1976 debut in the men’s event. It was introduced to the women’s program at the 1984 New York Paralympic Games.
The object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent in the time allotted. Each match lasts 24 minutes, with two 12-minute halves. If the score is tied after regulation, there are two overtime periods played, each lasting three minutes and running under a ‘golden goal’ rule, where the first score wins the match. If there is no winner after the OT periods, a penalty shootout occurs, much like in soccer.
Each team has three players on the floor and can make up to three substitutions throughout a game. Players from each team aim to throw a ball past their opponents and into a net, but must wear opaque eyeshades at all times and stay on their hands and knees while defending. They take turns throwing the ball, sometimes twisting their whole body around in order to produce as much power as possible, releasing it at speeds of up to 37 mph in the men’s event. For a goal to count, the ball must completely cross the goal line for it to be considered a score.
The ball must bounce on the team’s side of the court and the neutral area in the middle of the court for it to count; if it doesn’t, it is punished by a penalty in which one player must defend the goal alone. If a ball rebounds over the center line or sideline in the neutral area after it has been blocked by a defending player, it is called a “ball over” and given back to the opposing team for another throw.
The goals stretch nine meters (roughly 29.5 feet) long, across the entire width of the court. The court is 18 meters (almost 59 feet) long and tactile string marks out the lines, allowing players to feel where they are. Often, players will orient themselves by running their hands along the goal too, assessing the best angles from which to throw the ball.
Since players rely on senses other than sight, the arenas in which they play are kept deliberately silent so that they can hear the ball, which contains bells, as well as their opponents moving around.
Which classifications can compete?
As all players are required to wear blackout eyeshades, different classifications can compete alongside each other even if they have varying levels of sight.
Visually impaired athletes belong to one of three classifications – B1 for those who are totally blind, B2 for those who have some sight and can see shadows, and B3 for those who have less than 10% functional vision.
Who are the favorites and when is it on?
Turkey has dominated women’s goalball in recent years, winning the gold medal at the last two Paralympic Games as well as the world championship in 2022, and currently sits atop the world rankings.
Their talisman Sevda Altunoluk will once again lead their challenge, as she attempts to replicate her remarkable performance at Tokyo in 2020, where she scored 46 goals in the competition, including eight in the final alone.
Japan and world silver medalist South Korea will be seeking to challenge Turkey when the group stages begin at the South Paris Arena on August 29. Group stage matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions are scheduled to finish on September 1 before the knockout stages which will run from September 2-4. The medal matches will take place on September 5.
In the men’s competition, the USA has been drawn in a pool alongside reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1 Brazil. The Brazilians are a formidable force, having won the last three world championships as well as the Olympic title in Tokyo, and are familiar opponents for the USA who have lost to them in the last three Parapan American Games.