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'