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Some created singular unforgettable moments, most have won multiple medals across a series of Games, all have been pioneers.
Here, the PA news agency picks out 10 of the finest summer Paralympians.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
Arguably Britain’s most famous Paralympian. Baroness Grey-Thompson, who has spina bifida, was a wheelchair racer and competed in five Games between 1988 and 2004. She claimed 11 gold medals, plus four silvers and a bronze, and was created a Life Peer in 2010.
Oscar Pistorius
Regarded as a true trailblazer, the South African double amputee known as ‘the Blade Runner’ won six Paralympic titles and competed in the 400m at the London Olympics. He was released from jail on parole earlier this year after being convicted of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Natalia Partyka
Born without a right hand and forearm, the Polish table tennis ace is a six-time Paralympic gold medallist and has also competed in the Olympics. Partyka, 35, made her Games debut at Sydney 2000 aged just 11 and became the sport’s youngest Paralympic champion four years later in Athens.
Sir Lee Pearson
The Staffordshire equestrian star took his career tally to 14 golds by topping the podium three times in Tokyo – the sixth Paralympics of his career. ‘The Godfather’ of British Para Dressage held a 100 per cent record of nine golds from nine events from his first three Games. He added a further two golds, two silvers and a bronze across London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Esther Vergeer
Dutch wheelchair tennis player Vergeer was Paralympic champion in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London, in addition to three golds and a silver in doubles. The 43-year-old also won 21 Grand Slam titles before retirement. She is the Netherlands’ Chef de Mission for Paris.
Trischa Zorn
The most-decorated Paralympian of all time. American swimmer Zorn, who was legally blind until she received two artificial iris implants in 2003, won a staggering 41 golds across seven Games between 1980 and 2004. The 60-year-old claimed a remarkable total of 55 medals for Team USA.
Daniel Dias
The Brazilian swimmer became his nation’s most-decorated Paralympian after winning four gold, three silver and two bronze medals on home soil at Rio 2016. Having already claimed 24 medals across three Games, Dias retired after adding three bronzes to his total at Tokyo 2020.
Chantal Petitclerc
Canadian athlete Petitclerc was a dominant force in wheelchair racing from 1996 to 2008. The 54-year-old won 14 Paralympic gold medals in a stellar career, plus a further five silver and two bronze. In 2016, she was named to the Senate of Canada.
Dame Sarah Storey
Britain’s most successful Paralympian, the 46-year-old cyclist made her Games debut in Barcelona aged 14. Storey won five gold, eight silver and three bronze medals across four Games as a swimmer before switching to the bike and collecting a further 12 golds in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo.
Natalie Du Toit
The South African swimmer, who in 2001 lost her left leg below the knee in a scooter accident when she was travelling to school, is a 13-time Paralympic champion. She became the first amputee to qualify for the Olympics when she booked a place at Beijing 2008 in the 10km open water event.
