This week marks the start of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where over 4,000 athletes will compete during the ongoing pandemic. And while the audience for the games is large, equal treatment for the athletes has taken time. It took until this year for the Paralympics to be covered on prime-time television and for Paralympians to be paid comparably to their Olympic counterparts.Japan's Covid-19 cases hit a record high just days before the opening ceremony.We talk through what to expect this year and why it's taken so long for the Paralympics to make it to prime time. Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.