Today I come with a list of the 21 of the best Paralympic athletes in history, Inspirational motives for athletes who aspire to participate in the most demanding competitions, such as the World Cups and the Olympics.
This listing does not follow any ranking criteria. The choice of these athletes has been based on their achievements and other conditions such as inspiration or personal improvement, trying to expand the largest number of champions per discipline.
Orange (United States), 1964
Most awarded Paralympic athlete in history. Visually impaired swimmer, she has 51 medals to her credit, 41 being gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze..
He has participated in 7 JJ.00, being able to stand out those held in Seoul in 1988, where he got 12 gold medals (10 individual and 2 per team).
Stoke (UK), 1974
Pearson was born with multiple congenital arthrogryposis, a disease that has not been an obstacle to having represented Great Britain in horseback riding at the Paralympics in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London.
It has among its awards 10 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals, having been achieved in the different dressage modalities. He also holds the title of Knight of the Order of the British Empire.
Campinas (Brazil), 1988
Known as 'Herman', he was born with a congenital malformation of the upper limbs and right leg. However, this was not an obstacle for him to start swimming at the age of 16..
He has participated in the Paralympics in Peking (2008) and London (2012), having obtained 10 gold medals, 4 silver and one bronze. In addition, in 2009 he won the Laureus Award, known as the “Oscar of sport”.
Norrköping (Sweden), 1965.
Renowned shooter, he obtained the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, the highest recognition that an athlete can receive in Sweden.
Paralyzed from the waist down, he has competed in different shooting modalities between the 1980 and 2012 Olympic Games, having obtained 17 gold, 4 silver and 9 bronze medals..
Wallington (UK), 1979
Weir was born with a spinal cord transection that disabled his legs. He started wheelchair racing at the age of 8 and competed in his first Olympics at Atlanta 96, when he was just 17 years old..
His successes came from Athens 2004, where he won 1 silver medal and another bronze. Later in Peking 2008 he obtained 2 gold medals, 1 silver and another bronze. But without a doubt, his best participation was in London 2012, where he won 4 gold medals against his countrymen.
Sandton (South Africa), 1986
Perhaps the best known disabled athlete in history. With both his legs amputated at eleven months of birth, Pistorius has the honor of having been one of the few people to compete in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games..
Sprint runner, has a collection of 23 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze medals in the different modalities in which he has participated during these years in different high-level competitions.
Gdanks (Poland), 1989
.Excellent table tennis player despite being born without a right hand or forearm.
Like Pistorius, he belongs to the select club of athletes who have participated in both the Olympics and the Paralympics.
At the age of 11, he competed for the first time in a Paralympic Games (Sidney 2000), having since achieved 3 gold medals, 1 beach and 1 bronze. A track record that will surely grow due to its youth.
Rome (Italy), 1944-2011
This multidisciplinary athlete lost mobility in his legs after falling from a tree. After this accident, Marson participated in the Tokyo 64 Paralympic Games, in the athletics, wheel fencing and swimming categories. The balance? 3 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals.
He retired in 1982 and by then he already had in his record up to 26 Paralympic medals, with Tel Aviv 68 having been his best participation (10 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze).
Woerden (Netherlands), 1981
The most dominant athlete in history. An operation for vascular myelopathy condemned her to live in a wheelchair, but her desire to improve broke all expectations.
She practiced volleyball and basketball, but stood out in tennis where in addition to having a balance of 700-25 (wins / losses), she was the winner of 7 gold medals and 1 silver in her Olympic appearances..
Bern (Switzerland), 1958
Most successful male athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games. In 1978 he suffered an accident while climbing, which caused him to become quadriplegic..
However, this has not been an impediment to since then he has participated in the Olympic Games of 84,88,92,96,00,08 and 12 to get 14 gold, 6 silver and 11 bronze medals.
Zaragoza (Spain), 1975
After a neuropathy, Perales progressively lost his ability to walk, until he lost his mobility from the waist down. She learned to swim and soon began competing to be one of the most important athletes in Spain..
To his credit, he has 4 appearances in the Olympic Games. (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and a list of 22 medals (6 gold, 6 silver, 10 bronze).
Kokomo (Ireland) 1946-2008
He contracted polio at the age of six, but by the age of 14 he was already bouncing a basketball over a chair. He participated in 7 Olympic Games and also worked as a coach for some years.
Although he excelled in basketball, Owen was very versatile, which led him to not only win numerous gold medals in wheelchair basketball, but also medals in swimming, pentathlon and discus.
Bribane (Australia), 1992
As a swimmer grandfather and father, Jacqueline soon ended up splashing in the swimming pools in her hometown. In his case because it was used as a therapy to combat the diplegia he suffers. An obstacle that only served to become one of the best swimmers in history
Holder of the Medal of the Order of Australia, Freney won a whopping 8 gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, more than any other participant in the games..
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis (Germany), 1956
First athlete with a disability to win € 1 million in sponsorships. Möller lost half of her left leg when she was 3 years old, an accident that has not prevented her from being one of the most successful athletes in the history of the Paralympics..
In her career she won 19 medals in alpine skiing, exceeding all her competitors from 1980 to 2006, a stage in which she competed professionally. He also got 3 silver and 1 bronze medals in other athletics competitions.
East St Louis (United States) 1937-2010
During his university stage, Stein fell ill with polio, which caused him to require a wheelchair to lead a normal life.
He competed in the I Paralympic Games held in Rome in 1960, demonstrating his versatility by winning in the shooting, weight and pentathlon categories, as well as winning gold with the wheelchair basketball team. In 1964 he returned to participate in the Paralympic games to obtain six gold medals and set a world record.
Oslo (Norway), 1943
During his childhood, Myklebust was diagnosed with polio. He is considered one of the best athletes in the winter games.
The reason for this is based on his 22 gold medals, 3 silver and 2 bronze obtained between 1988 and 2002. He has represented the Nordic country in different modalities such as biathlon, cross-country skiing (16 gold medals) or speed races. on sled.
Colmar (France), 1961
With 20 Olympic golds, only surpassed by Zorn and Myklebust in the medal table. A swimmer with cerebral palsy, she receives the affectionate nickname 'Torpedo' in her native France.
Hess has managed to get at least one medal in all his Olympic participations (20 gold, 5 silver), highlighting his presence in Sydney 2000, where he managed to set 9 world records.
Salisbury (UK), 1970
Kenny at the age of 19 suffered a serious fall on the Tour of Ireland, which caused cerebral palsy. It wasn't until he was 30 that he decided to get back on a bike to become possibly the best road and track cyclist in history..
Among his achievements, several world records and 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medals. In addition, thanks to his ability to excel and his achievements, he has the Star of the British Order.
Kawasaki (Japan), 1970
Narita suffered myelitis at the age of 13 and a traffic accident in 94 that left her a quadriplegic. However, two years later he competed with the Japanese team in the Atlanta 96 Paralympics, obtaining 2 golds in the 50 and 100 freestyle swimming categories..
Then came Sidney 2000 and Athens 2004, where Narita expanded her track record to a total of 15 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals..
Basel (Switzerland), 1958
Idol in the Helvetian country. He has competed between 1980 and 2008 in the different Olympic events in the categories of table tennis and wheelchair athlete. In the latter he stood out especially, leaving some record marks.
Until his retirement, Nietlispach has managed to achieve 14 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals, being among the most successful athletes in the history of the Paralympic games..
Ontario (Canada), 1974
Tracey suffered a setback when at the age of 9 she had a complicated back operation that left her paralyzed. Although her ambition was to be a swimmer, in the end she opted for wheelchair basketball, a choice that has led her to be considered one of the best players in history..
In his record, he has 3 gold and 1 bronze medals in the different Paralympic Games in which he has participated, in addition to 5 world championships.
Noteworthy could be others such as: Anna Maria Toso, Knut Lundstrom, Maria Scutti, Michael Walker, Anna Schaffelhuber, Lauren Woolstencroft, Michael Edgson, Robert Figl or Ellie Simmonds.
What other Paralympians do you think should be on this list?
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