After the huge success of the Tokyo Olympics, Tuesday will see the start of the summer Paralympics. The games will run for a duration of two weeks from 24th August until the 5th September.
A total of 163 nations will be taking part with over 4,500 athletes participating in 22 sports. The 16th Paralympic Games will see the introduction of badminton and taekwondo, replacing sailing and seven a side football.
All the action set to take place largely behind closed doors
All the action will take place in Tokyo largely behind closed doors. This will mark the second Paralympics to be held in Tokyo since 1964.
Brazil will be sending the most competitors with 258 followed by Japan 260,United States 242 and Great Britain 227. ParalympicsGB will be represented in a total of 19 off the 22 sports.
ParalympicsGB has also confirmed the highest percentage of female athletes competing, with 100 selected.
Dame Sarah Storey, a legend
The most decorated athlete on the team is Dame Sarah Storey who has won 14 gold, eight silver and three bronze. Storey, made her Games debut in Barcelona 1992. All 25 medals from Great Britain’s most successful female Paralympian have been won in swimming and athletics. Dame Storey will be competing at her eighth games, equalling the record held by Di Coates.
The youngest athlete on the team will be 17-year-old swimmer Ellie Challis. Archer John Stubbs at 56 will be the oldest member of the team competing.
The team is crammed with experience with 144 returning Paralympians and 43 Paralympic champions. Canoe’s Jeanette Chippington has featured for GB across no less than five decades. Tokyo will be here seventh games. Chippington has already won 12 medals after making her debut at Seoul in 1988 as a swimmer.
Big success for GB in Rio 2016
Back in Rio 2016 ParalympicsGB came away with 147 medals including 64 Golds, beating the total of 120 medals at London 20212.
Competitors to look out for in the ParalympicsGB team include Olivia Breen, competing in both sprint and long jump events. Breen, recently won gold in the long jump at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Current Paralympic javelin champion Hollie Arnold is expected to go close again after winning Gold at the 2016 games in Rio. Samantha Kinghorn is the fastest ever British female wheelchair racer over 100m,200m,400m and 800m.
Kare Adenegan won a silver and two bronzes in Rio at the age of just 15. She also set a new world record in the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games in the T34 100m. Hannah Cockroft has already won five Gold medals at two Paralympic games. Two in London 2016 and three in Rio 2016.
Swimmer Ellie Simmonds rose to fame aged just 13 when she won two Golds at the 2008 Beijing games. She won Gold at London and Rio and looks well placed to bring home more medals from Japan.
Bethany Firth is certainly an all rounder in the pool. Firth, has won medals in breaststroke,freestyle,backstroke and medley races. She bagged three Golds in Rio and could go well again in Tokyo.
Kadeena Cox was one of the biggest success stories from Rio, competing in both cycling and track and field events. There are many more names to look out for as ParalympicsGB look to continue their impressive run of big medal hauls from the Summer Paralympics.