10 inspiring athletes to watch

Representing Team USA, swimmer Jessica Long is competing in her sixth Paralympics with 29 total medals, 16 of which are gold. Born in Russia with fibular hemimelia, a rare congenital condition where she was missing the fibula bones in her lower legs, Jessica was adopted by American couple Steve and Beth Long at 13 months old. Her legs were amputated below the knee at 18 months. With her parents’ support, she has become one of America’s most decorated athletes of all time.

The handsome Italian Simone Barlaam will be competing in his second Paralympics after collecting 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games. The 24-year-old heartthrob is a thirteen-time World champion and eight-time European champion. He was born with coxa vara and congenital hypoplasia in his right femur, conditions that led to his right leg not developing properly, making it shorter than his left leg. The coxa vara was a result of a procedure performed while he was in utero, which caused his leg to break. Throughout his childhood, he underwent thirteen surgeries to correct the issues with his right leg. He’s explained in past interviews that he’s always felt more graceful in water but started taking swimming seriously in 2015 after he met his coach Massimiliano Tosin. He competes in the 100 meter backstroke, 100 butterfly plus the 50, 100, and 400 freestyle categories.

Hannah “Hurricane Hannah” Cockroft from Great Britain is a powerful wheelchair racer heading into her fourth Paralympic Games. Born with multiple areas of her brain damaged and a collapsed lung after surviving two heart attacks in the first 24 hours of life, Cockroft was first introduced to para-sports at 12, initially playing wheelchair basketball before finding track in 2007. Fast forward to 2024, she holds 16 World Championship titles and has won three Olympic gold medals from the Rio 2016 Games (in the T34 100m, 400m, and 800m) and two from the Tokyo 2020 Games (in the T34 100m and 800m).

American Paralympic racer Hunter Woodhall is competing in his third Paralympics in the 100m and 400m. His participation comes after his wife, Tara Davis-Woodhall, won gold in the Women’s Long Jump in the Paris Games Olympics. Born with fibular hemimelia, which led to his first amputation of both legs below the knee at 11 months old, Woodhall won silver and bronze in Rio 2016 and bronze in the 400m at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He is aiming for gold in 2024.

Argentinian tennis player Gustavo Fernández is competing in his third Paralympics. After suffering a spinal cord injury at 18 months old, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, the 30-year-old has competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games and is ready and hungry for gold in Paris.

Australian wheelchair rugby player Ryley Batt is competing in his sixth Paralympic Games. Born without legs and having surgery to separate his webbed fingers, he moved around on a skateboard until he was 12 and later discovered wheelchair rugby. At the 2004 Athens Games, he was the youngest Paralympic rugby player at age 15. Batt has since led Australia to win two gold and one silver medal, known for his speed, agility, and scoring prowess.

Alana Maldonado is a visually impaired Brazilian judoka competing in her third Paralympics, with one gold (Tokyo) and one silver (Rio). She is the first female Brazilian judoka to win Paralympic gold. Despite being a medal favorite, there are concerns about her health as she missed most of 2023 due to an ACL injury. However, she won silver at the ISBA Grand Prix of Tbilisi in May 2024, so fans are hopeful she doesn’t have any lingering pain.

Considered the fastest woman in the world, Tatyana McFadden represents Team USA in track and field with 20 Paralympic medals, including eight gold, eight silver, and four bronze. Born in Russia with spina bifida and spending her first six years in an orphanage, McFadden was paralyzed from the waist down. She learned to walk on her hands to keep up with other children. Adopted by Deborah McFadden in 1993, she was introduced to sports programs to build strength. Falling in love with wheelchair racing, McFadden made her Paralympic debut in Athens in 2004 at age 15.

Patrick Anderson is often hailed as one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players in history. Representing Canada at his sixth Paralympic Games at age 45, Anderson became an amputee after being hit by a car shortly before his 10th birthday. Introduced to wheelchair basketball in 1991, he made the Junior National team in 1997 and began playing with adults around age 14. He holds three Paralympic gold medals (London 2012, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000) and one silver medal (Beijing 2008).

Heather Erickson is one of 12 athletes representing the United States in the women’s sitting volleyball competition at this year’s games. Born with a bone condition that prevented her leg from developing fully, she underwent 18 surgeries before having her leg amputated at age 9. This will be the 31-year-old’s fifth Games, having made her debut at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. She has been a key player for the U.S. women’s sitting volleyball team, helping them secure gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.