MELISSA TAPPER
Australia
Her story: Known as "Milly", the veteran table tennis star has a brachial plexus injury resulting in Erb’s palsy. She made history in Rio in 2016 when she became the first Australian to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics. Tapper also competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo three years ago, winning Paralympic silver, and has just competed at the Paris Olympics.
ALEXIS HANQUINQUANT
France
His story: The Paris Olympics had swimming god Leon Marchand - and the Paralympics will want some French heroes too. Hanquinquant is an early contender. He won triathlon gold in Tokyo and was given the honour of being one of the final Olympic torch bearers in Paris. Hanquinquant, who has already been accorded the Legion of Honour, was a French combat sports champion before having a leg amputated following a work accident.
DIEDE DE GROOT
Netherlands
Her story: The reigning Laureus world sportsperson of the year with a disability is ruthlessly successful. De Groot is the world No 1 in both singles and doubles in women’s wheelchair tennis, and won gold in both at the last Paralympics. She won three successive calendar grand slams, and has won five French Open singles titles at Roland Garros.
SHAE GRAHAM
Australia
Her story: Paralympians are tough - you do not get to this level of sport, while having had to negotiate life with a disability, without possessing a good amount of ticker. But Graham is one out of the box. She was the first woman to represent Australia in the brutal sport of wheelchair rugby, and now has two other women beside her in the Steelers, who won gold in 2012 and 2016 but missed out on a medal in Tokyo. And she is a librarian - go figure.
MARCEL HUG
Switzerland
His story: They call him the Silver Bullet. Hug won four gold medals - 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon - at the Tokyo Paralympics. The wheelchair racer has also won the London, New York, Boston, Chicago and Berlin marathons.
USA
Her story: Masters has become the American face of para sport. She was born in Ukraine with multiple birth defects after the Chernobyl disaster, and after a traumatic time at an abusive orphanage, she was adopted by an American woman and had both legs amputated. Masters started in rowing but is now a cycling star. Oh, and she is also a wildly successful Winter Paralympian in cross-country skiing and biathlon. She already has 17 Paralympic medals on the shelf as well as an autobiography, The Hard Parts. Her fiance, Aaron Pike, will be competing in his seventh Paralympics.
Germany
His story: We no longer mention the Blade Runner. The new king of Paralympic athletics is the Blade Jumper. Rehm is heavily favoured to win a fourth long jump title in Paris. He holds the world record of 8.72m - which would have won him Olympic gold in Paris, but he has been ruled ineligible as his prosthesis is deemed to give him an advantage. The German star lost his right leg below the knee after a wakeboarding accident in 2003. Made his international debut at the world championships in New Zealand in 2011.
SUMIT ANTIL
India
His story: While Neeraj Chopra won silver at the Olympics, fellow Indian javelin thrower Antil is odds-on for gold at the Paris Paralympics. He is the defending champion and two-time world champion, and holds the world record of 73.29m. Antil was dreaming of being a wrestler until a motorcycle accident in
2017 led to a leg being amputated.
HUNTER WOODHALL
USA
Her story: You have already seen him in Paris - he was the proud husband going ballistic after wife Tara Davis-Woodhall won the Olympic long jump. Now it is Woodhall’s time to shine. The 400m runner had both of his legs amputated below the knee as a toddler, and after being fitted for running blades, he became the first double amputee to earn a division one college scholarship.
