The Summer Olympic Games are done and dusted, but there’s more sports action to enjoy with the Paralympics set to commence on September 7th. These athletes are special, very special in their own way, as they have not lost hope even when life has been cruel to them.
Also Read: India's largest-ever contingent leave for Rio Paralympic Games
More than 4000 athletes will be participating at the this year’s Paralympic Games and we look at the five biggest stars who will be featuring for their respective countries at the Games:
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#1 Dame Sarah Storey (Great Britain)
Sarah Storey has had an illustrious Paralympics career and will possibly be her last chance of winning more medals at the age of 37. Storey will be going into her seventh Paralympic Games in Rio. She had initially started her career as a swimmer but the British athlete chose to switch to cycling in Beijing 2008.
She had won a total of seven gold medals in swimming – at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. The swimmer also has two silver medals and a bronze to her name from her former sport. However, since shifting to cycling, Storey won her first major medal in the Beijing as she won two gold medals which increased to four in London.
The cyclist has a total of 22 medals from the Paralympic Games overall, out of which 11 medals are of the yellow colour. Storey is considered as one of the most decorated specially-abled athletes in the world and will be the favourite to retain the four gold medals she had won four years ago.
The 37-year old was born without a working left hand but her inner strength has led her to become a 27-time World Champion (5 in swimming and 22 in cycling) and a 21-time European Champion (18 in swimming and 3 in cycling) as she holds a total of 72 world records.
#2 Daniel Dias (Brazil)
Daniel Dias will be representing Brazil at the Paralympic Games in his homeland. The country had seen a successful outing in the Olympic Games and will be looking to match their success in the special Games. Dias has been one of Brazil's most successful Paralympians since starting his winning streak at Beijing 2008.
The swimmer went on to win four gold medals in China after which there has been no stopping him.
The Brazilian topped the four medals by winning another six gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympics. The swimmer successfully managed to retain his crown in the S5 class in the 50m backstroke, 100m and 200m freestyle events.
His achievements in the sport of swimming has seen him win three ‘Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability’ World Sports Awards. Dias has 15 medals to his name in all out of which 10 are gold which he has won in six different disciplines. The swimmer will again be competing in six events at Rio 2016 and could etch his name in the history books of the Games.
#3 Jessica Long (USA)
Jessica Long represents the United States of America in swimming at the Paralympic Games and will be featuring in her fourth Games at the age of just 24. The American had burst onto the scene at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games as a 12-year old kid who went on to win three gold medals.
That was an incredible feat for the young swimmer who won in the 100m butterfly, 400m butterfly and the 4x100m butterfly relay events.
The swimmer was born with fibular hemimelia and her legs were amputated even before she was 2 years old. However, the athlete got used to living with prostheses and went on to pursue a career in swimming.
She managed to win another four and five gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games respectively. The American currently has a total of 17 Paralympic medals to her name at the age of 24 and she could compete in Tokyo as well.
She has a total of 12 gold medals to her name and will be looking to win her fourth consecutive gold medal in the 100m and 400m freestyle (S8 class) events in Rio and third consecutive gold in the 100m butterfly. This will make her one of the biggest stars in the Paralympic Games’ history which will enhance her reputation.
#4 Sherif Othman (Egypt)
Egypt’s Sherif Othman is not the man you would like to mess with. The athlete was into shotput in the initial stages of his career but then shifted onto powerlifting at the age of 25. The Egyptian participated at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the men's 56kg category where he managed to win the gold medal, as he broke the world record three times in acclaiming the victory.
Othman also went on to win the gold at the 2010 IPC Powerlifting World Championship where he broke his own record again as he lifted a weight of 205 kgs. The 33-year-old defended his title at the London 2012 Paralympics.
The Egyptian has since shifted onto the 59kg category and will be competing to win a third straight gold medal at Rio 2016. But things will not be easy for the powerlifter as Great Britain's world champion Ali Jawad will be the favourite to win the gold in Rio in this category.
#5 Jason Smyth (Ireland)
Ireland’s Jason Smyth is considered as the fastest Paralympian of all time and he will be looking to match Usain Bolt’s hat-trick of 100m gold medals at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. The 29-year old sprinter is also known for clocking the world record in the 100m sprint twice in two Paralympic Games as he won the gold in Beijing 2008 and then in London 2012.
The sprinter had clocked a timing of 10.62 seconds in Beijing 2008 where he was given the title of being the fastest Paralympian ever. Smyth did not stop there as he returned four years later in England to break his record again with a timing of 10.46 seconds.
The sprinter is legally completely blind as he suffers from the Stargardt’s disease. He also has two more gold medals to his name which he had won in the 200m event at the Paralympics and will also be looking to add a third to his collection in Rio.
The sprinter will not be able to match Bolt’s triple-triple but he can certainly have his own triple-double at the Rio Games this month. The sprinter has prepared himself to peak at the right time and will be the one to watch out for in Brazil.
The Irish had said that he intends to break the world record a third consecutive time at the Games in Rio and thereby win the third gold medal as well.
