PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![a male Para swimmer with no arms](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2019-09/Mohammad%20Abas%20Karimi.jpg?h=9ad11d6d&itok=I2aiS_ot)
Refugee Paralympic Team athletes ready to 'make dreams come true' in the Games
For swimmer Abbas Karimi and athlete Alia Issa, competing at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics is the greatest step of an arduous journey
![a male Para athlete sprinting](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2019-08/Paris-Salum-Kashafali-1.jpg?h=d90f3529&itok=McNwTVX_)
Kashafali plots course from civil war to maths teacher in Norway
'Moving to Norway was like winning the lottery. It was a one in a million chance, to go from begging for food to getting a roof over you'
![A young woman kissing her gold medal](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-1336467480.jpg?h=75c1b4a2&itok=pY1LaEmf)
USA and Japan take first gold as day two sees 11 world records
Anastasia Pagonis breaks record in her Paralympic debut and Takayuki Suzuki puts host nation on the top of the podium at the Paralympic Games
![Tan Shumei in wheelchair fencing podium](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-1336273610.jpg?h=f76302da&itok=ZilgPzCk)
Tan Shumei wins second gold in wheelchair fencing at Tokyo 2020
Chinese wheelchair fencer obtains back-to-back victories in the épée and sabre category B events in Japan
![A woman preparing to lift the bar on a bench press competition](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/51403896434_fa05d6d4ff_c.jpg?itok=00gBcj-L)
World record debut for Lingling on day of first-time champions
Kazakhstan and Jordan make history with their first Paralympic powerlifting gold while Nigeria shows fine form in the opening day in Tokyo
![Pagonis gets ready](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-1336478420.jpg?itok=CH2dkn9z)
Pagonis speaks out about panic attack ahead of world record win in swimming
"Mental health is 100% of the game. If you're not mentally there then you're not there at all"
![Takayuki Suzuki screams in joy after winning gold at Tokyo 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Suzuki-Japan.jpg?itok=TbwoLm7q)
Takayuki Suzuki delivers first Tokyo 2020 gold medal to hosts Japan
Suzuki wins men’s 100m freestyle S4 in a Paralympic record of 1:21:58
![Kory Puderbaugh, close up in wheelchair rugby action](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-1336223891.jpg?h=43b0deb5&itok=wwhalYN_)
What wheelchair rugby star Kory Puderbaugh said to President Obama
"I asked him when he was going to get his six-pack abs back. He laughed and said, ‘I’m still working on my four-pack’"
![Spain's Alfonso Cabello Llamas in action at the Izu Velodrome](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Cabello-Llamas.jpg?itok=1yWuY9Of)
Cabello Llamas gives Spain their first gold
The 27-year-old takes back the men's C4-5 1000m time trial title he last won at London 2012 as four world records fall on day two of track cycling competition
![Jamaican judoka Theador Sabba carries flag in Opening Ceremony](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/1800566.jpg?h=290a6d99&itok=Ru94BZTO)
Theador Subba on a mission to bring Jamaica vibe to judo
'On the mat, off the mat, everywhere - I bring a little bit of Jamaica. I try my best to teach other people the Jamaican culture'
![A man in a wheelchair biting his gold medal](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2023-06/Jordan%20Qaraba.jpg?itok=DVzm6oQC)
Jordan and China bag first Para powerlifting gold
A body weight difference of 100 grams gives Omar Qarada first place ahead of Vietnam's Rio 2016 champion Le Van Cong at the Tokyo International Forum
![Agitos logo in front of the Olympic Stadium at Tokyo 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/tokyo-2020-olympic-stadium-agitos.jpg?h=11f01052&itok=4QiXM39e)
Star-studded Para athletics competition set to start in Tokyo
Athletes from 156 nations will compete in 167 medal events during the 10-day action at the National Olympic stadium
![Ibrahim Al Hussein](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-06/Ibrahim%20Al%20Hussein%20mugshot.jpg?itok=yQqv09WH)
Al Hussein to open Refugee Paralympic Team participation
Class 8 swimmer is the first athlete of the six-member team to compete in the Paralympic Games
![Sareh Javanmardidodmani wins shooting gold medal Rio 2016](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/160909220900443_shooting.jpg?itok=zY0lc9Ti)
Paralympics preview: shooting day two
Paralympic legends Sareh Javanmardi and Yang Chao to be the biggest stars in action at the Asaka Shooting Range on 31 August
![dong feixia in the discus throw](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-82730462.jpg?h=b6fe205d&itok=qV5gcRZt)
Day 3: Paralympic Games preview
Athletics takes centerstage and judo starts action, while swimming and track cycling go on awarding medals
![Husnah Kukundakwe in action at the Tokyo 2020 Aquatics Centre](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Husnah2.jpg?h=5575cdf2&itok=F2r1tHDt)
Kukundakwe hopes her Paralympic campaign will change perceptions
The youngest Paralympian at Tokyo 2020 hopes her debut has an impact that reaches outside of sport
![Woman puts ice pack on shoulders](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Amane-Yanagimoto-wheelchair-basketball-getty.jpg?h=1793250c&itok=dRKQVh_o)
IPC reminds athletes to prepare for heat and humidity at Tokyo 2020
Awareness and methods to counteract adverse weather effects can help Para athletes perform at their best
![A woman putting her hands around a bar on a bench press](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/48278089042_63e3625fcd_c.jpg?itok=r42_r8L0)
China’s Guo Lingling yearns to clinch first Paralympic gold
World record holder and favourite for gold, Chinese lifter will have Indonesia's Ni Nengah Widiasih and Syria’s Noura Badour as main rivals in the -41kg event
![Man smiling on his horse](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2020-07/tobias-jorgensen.jpg?h=983363b9&itok=r0zu4T75)
From the saddle to the cells: Danish rider plans to improve local penal system
After the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Tobias Jorgensen wants to help rehabilitate prison inmates in his country
![A man celebrating in the swimming pool with his fist high](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/1801149.jpg?itok=kati6BcI)
Four golds for Australia on fantastic day one
Fourteen-year old gives Japan its first medal at the home Games while Paralympic legend Daniel Dias extends his legacy with 25th medal in the pool