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Markus Rehm -

Markus Rehm is a German long jump athlete with four gold and one bronze Paralympic medals. Known as the Blade Jumper, he had his right leg amputated below the knee at age 14 after a wakeboarding incident.

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Hannah Cockroft -

The British wheelchair racing star has seven gold medals from previous Games. She holds the Paralympic records at 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 800 meters.

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Ezra Frech -

Los Angeles native Ezra Frech is seeking to add his first Paralympic medals to his already padded résumé, which includes a world record in the high jump. He was born without most of his left leg, missing a knee and fibula, and missing fingers on his left hand. When he was two years old, he had surgery to remove his lower left leg and transplant a toe from his amputated foot onto his left hand.

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Jessica Long -

American swimming legend Jessica Long has 29 Paralympic medals, including 16 gold. Paris will be her sixth Paralympics. As an infant, she had congenital defects in her legs, requiring double amputation.

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David Smith -

Reigning Paralympic and world champion boccia star, David Smith has been winning medals for Great Britain since the Beijing games back in 2008.

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Martina Caironi -

A two-time gold medalist, Martina Caironi is one of Italy's strongest Paralympic athletes. She has earned medals in the T42 and T63 100-meter dash and long jump, and plans to compete in both events in Paris.

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Hunter Woodhall -

Having caught the world's attention at the Olympics as Tara Davis-Woodhall's supportive husband, Hunter Woodhall is also a track and field athlete, but in the Paralympics. The medal-winning American had both of his legs amputated at 11 months old due to fibular hemimelia. 

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Mariska Beijer -

Dutch basketball star Mariska Beijer is an experienced veteran on the Paralympic court. She won a gold medal at the 2020 Games and bronze medals in 2012 and 2016. 

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Iona Winnifrith -

Born in 2011, Iona Winnifrith is the youngest swimmer in this year's Team Great Britain. Winnifrith has a short stature and swims in the S7 classification for physical impairment.  

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Fleur Jong -

The reigning Paralympic champion in the women’s long jump T64, the Netherlands' Fleur Jong is a medal favorite in both track and field disciplines. A few days before her 17th birthday, in December 2012, Jong contracted a bacterial blood infection, which hindered blood flow to her extremities. As a result, her right leg had to be amputated below the knee as well as part of her left foot and the top halves of eight fingers.

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Simone Barlaam -

Italy's Simone Barlaam is one of the most accomplished competitors in this year's Paralympic Games, with 18 world championship golds and four Paralympic medals from the 2020 Tokyo Games. He was born with a coxa vara and congenital hypoplasia in his right femur, which resulted in his right leg being shorter than his left leg.

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Timothée Adolphe -

Nicknamed Le Guépard Blanc, or The White Cheetah, Timothée Adolphe is one of France's strongest competitors in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter dashes in the T11 category. He experienced vision loss starting in childhood and became blind in his late teens.

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Yip Pin Xiu -

Singapore's most decorated Paralympian, Yip Pin Xiu is a backstroke swimmer and a five-time Paralympic gold medalist. Xiu was born with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary disorder that causes progressive nerve damage in the limbs. Her muscles degenerated throughout her childhood, and she lost the ability to walk at age 11.

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Abbas Karimi -

Born without arms, Abbas Karimi fled his home in Afghanistan at 16 to escape the Taliban. Having previously competed for the Refugee Team in Tokyo, Karimi will now represent the US, after becoming a citizen in 2021. 

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Hollie Arnold -

Competing in category F46 javelin, the Welsh thrower is looking to add to her gold and bronze Paralympic medals in Paris 2024.

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Gustavo Fernández -

In 2017, Argentina's Gustavo Fernández became the first Latin American to reach the number-one ranking in men's singles wheelchair tennis. Since then, he has claimed several major world titles, including winning Wimbledon and the French Open. Paris 2024 will be his third Paralympics. 

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Alexis Hanquinquant -

French Paralympic triathlon champion Alexis Hanquinquant is seeking to add his victory streak at his home Games. In 2010, he was involved in a work accident. After several surgeries, his right leg couldn't be saved, and it was amputated below the knee in 2013.

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Sarah Storey -

Sarah Storey, who began her career as a swimmer but switched to cycling in 2005, is set for her ninth Paralympics. She has a total of 28 Paralympic medals, including 17 golds. 

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Petrúcio Ferreira -

The reigning Paralympic champion in the 100 meters T47, Brazilian sprinter Petrúcio Ferreira has five Paralympic medals to his name, including two golds.

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Vanessa Low -

German-born Australian Vanessa Low is a Paralympic veteran, and reigning women's long jump T63 champion. A three-time Paralympic medalist, she has returned to competition after giving birth to her son Matteo in 2022.

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Lauritta Onye -

The multi-talented Nigerian, who is also an actress, is the former world record holder in the women's shot put F40 and the first athlete in her class to throw over eight meters. She earned a gold medal in Rio 2016. 

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Amanda Dennis -

Amanda Dennis is a leader for the United States in goalball, the most popular team sport for athletes with visual impairments. She has contributed to a world championship gold and two Paralympic medals. 

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Sumit Antil -

One of the biggest names in Indian Para sport, Sumit Antil is the reigning Paralympic and world champion in the men's javelin F64. He holds the current world record, having thrown 73.29 meters at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.

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Noemi Alphonse -

A rising star of the women's T54 division, she was the first Mauritian to compete in a Paralympic final. She finished fifth (100m), sixth (400m), and tenth (1500m) at the Tokyo Games. 

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Daiki Ishiyama -

Japanese long jumper Daiki Ishiyama has competed in both track and field events. Visually impaired, he finished fourth in the Long Jump T12 on his World Championships debut at Paris 2023, which earned him a spot at the Paralympics. 

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Funmi Oduwaiye -

Once a promising basketball player, the Cardiff-born athlete's numerous surgery complications for a condition called "knock knees" left her with serious injuries. Unable to move forward with basketball, Funmi Oduwaiye now competes in the shot put and discus at the Paralympics. 

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Parfait Hakizimana -

After fleeing civil war in his native Burundi in 2015, the para-taekwondo practitioner has been based in Rwanda. After losing his arm at the age of eight, when he was shot during an attack in which his mother was killed, he later took up taekwondo. Hakizimana competes for the Refugee Team. 

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Catherine Debrunner -

Switzerland's Catherine Debrunner is a five-time world champion and the reigning Paralympic champion in the women's 400m T53. She was born with a birth defect in her spine and took up wheelchair racing when she was eight. 

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Claire Taggart -

Born in Northern Ireland, Claire Taggart became the first boccia player from her country to represent Great Britain at a Paralympics in 2016. She now looks to claim her first Paralympic medal in the French capital.

Sources: (BBC) (The Guardian) (Paralympic) (Britannica) 

See also: The Paralympics through time

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