PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS
![A picture of a man celebrating on a bench press](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-151147636.jpg?itok=ceCOpPya)
Tokyo 2020: Para powerlifting in numbers
Facts, numbers and records to get ready for all the Paralympic action that kicks off in Japan on 26 August
![Haven Shepherd](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Haven%20Shepherd.jpg?itok=nGZxb6bi)
Blast survivor Shepherd relishing second chance in Tokyo
'I’ve always joked with my siblings (that) I’m the miracle child, I’m the favourite with mum and dad'
![Italian wheelchair fencer Beatrice Vio competing](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/190209134848876_Beatrice-Vio-Wheelchair-Fencing.jpg?itok=qJhkQerh)
Italy's Vio seeks second gold in wheelchair fencing
After winning the foil category B event at Rio 2016, Italy's Beatrice Vio (left) is ready to make history again in Tokyo
![Close up of swimmer doing breast stroke](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/160912000603584_GettyImages-603004518.jpg?itok=mpxjtPFT)
Para swimming features star athletes at Tokyo 2020
Multimedallists such as Daniel Dias, Sophie Pascoe and Jessica Long seek to obtain a record number of medals at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre
![US wheelchair basketball player Jake Williams holds the ball on top of his head preventing British defenders from taking posession of it](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-07/jake-williams-usa-wheelchair-basketball-uliphoto.jpg?h=29254e30&itok=Ver6Uc7O)
USA to defend wheelchair basketball golds
Winners in both men and women's competition at Rio 2016, the Americans are the ones to beat in Tokyo
![Gold medalist Daniel Dias of Brazil celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Men's 200m Freestyle - S5 Final on day 1 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/160909122025260_GettyImages-600950782.jpg?itok=q_cLd8vQ)
Tokyo 2020 Day 1: Ones to Watch
Brazilian superstar swimmer Daniel Dias and Australia's Ryley Batt, considered the best wheelchair rugby player in the world, are among the attractions of the first day of competition
![Andrew Parsons Opening Ceremony](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/1800624.jpg?h=428886db&itok=HuzNu3FQ)
Andrew Parsons' Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony speech
Full text of Andrew Parsons' Opening Ceremony address
![Sarah Storey cuddles her daughter and displays her gold medal](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/1071988%281%29.jpg?h=32806210&itok=5722NFrw)
Sarah Storey chasing cycling glory on track and road
Multiple medallist Storey juggles sport and motherhood as she targets third consecutive C5 3000m individual pursuit title
![Natalia Partyka competing in Rio de Janeiro](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/160914134252549_GettyImages-588939342.jpg?itok=fqEf_IHP)
Table tennis: Partyka seeks fifth gold in Tokyo
After wins at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, Polish believes the road to another gold won't be easy
Australia promise to put on show in bid for third gold
Decorated captain Ryley Batt sounds warning to rivals USA and Japan
![a man smiles on a horse](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/160911221348695_Lee%2BPearson_2.jpg?itok=wYbNsFbR)
The knight on a quest to add to his 11 Paralympic gold medals
‘As a man you never plan to change your title. You think you are always going to be a mister’
![Lithuania goalball team run across court to celebrate gold](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/1066081.jpg?h=1a36f1a7&itok=XP-TFylq)
Veteran Pavliukianec answers the goalball call at the age of 45
‘I don't have a job. I had spent a long time with my family, and then I got bored’
![Petrucio Ferreira dos Santos of Brazil wins and sets a new world record in the Men's 100m T47 Final at the London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/images/180129104325463_Petrucio%2BFerreira%2B.jpg?h=c1b57252&itok=svkAF1qq)
No pressure for Brazil's Petrucio dos Santos
‘I am a man that likes the challenges. It is not pressure, it is a challenge that I present to myself: try the best you can’
![Alexandre Bento Anastacio of France and Adam Scaturro and Josh Wheeler of USA at Rio 2016](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/GettyImages-605727810%281%29.jpg?h=58ec2f8b&itok=y9xdplGL)
USA wheelchair rugby star Scaturro's Everest high
'I wanted to do it because nobody else in a wheelchair had gone up there before'
German judo twins Ramona and Carmen Brussig are reunited
‘We always need each other because we are very close. We cannot be alone, and the older we get, the closer we become’
![Rowing venue for Tokyo 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-06/Sea-Forest-Waterway-tokyo-rowing.jpg?itok=LmZdLvek)
Para rower Kingsley has appetite for success
'They’re world champions in powerlifting, in table tennis and in javelin, but rowing just doesn’t exist at that level yet. It’s a big deal for Nigeria'
![Japanese Para athletes Yui Kamiji, Shunsuke Uchida and Karin Morisaki turn and wave after lighting the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Flame](/sites/default/files/styles/image_crop_16_9_800_450/public/2021-08/Cauldron.jpg?h=e7545970&itok=nMcGw2pq)
LET THE PARALYMPIC GAMES BEGIN!
The Paralympic Games have wings and take flight in a spectacular Opening Ceremony
![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)
Are You Ready? Paralympians set to change world’s view on disability at Tokyo 2020
Opening Ceremony on 24 August to kick off spectacle of amazing athlete performances to come