Aigars Apinis (born 9 June 1973, in Aizkraukle) is a Latvian athlete. He participates in F52 class which means he has limited finger movement and no trunk or leg function.
On July 3, 1992, he suffered a severe cervical vertebrae injury while jumping into the water. [1]
He started to practice in 1998, but already at the 2000 Summer Paralympics he won two bronze medals – in discus throw and shot put. At the 2004 Summer Paralympics he became the Olympic champion in discus throw and was 4th in shot put. Apinis won the gold medal in discus throw at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. [2] At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he won a bronze medal in Men's discus throw F52. [3]
In the fall of 2010 Apinis created resonance in the society, by stating that he is ready to sell his 2000 Sydney Paralympics bronze medal (first paralympic medal in the history of Latvia) in an auction, in order to provide Latvian Paralympic Committee with funds, which would allow Latvian delegation to participate in the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships. [4]
At the 2011 IPC (International Paralympic Committee) World Championships in New Zealand, Apinis won the gold medal in the shot put F52/53 category, [5] also setting a new world record [6] for his category.
Latvia, following its independence from the Soviet Union, made its Paralympic Games début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, with a delegation of two athletes in track and field. It then sent Supulnieks as its sole representative to the 1994 Winter Paralympics, for its Winter Games début. Latvia has taken part in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, but missed the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games, appearing with a one-man delegation in 2006, before being absent again in 2010.
The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with disabilities competed, and the Championships were a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Katherine Proudfoot is a cerebral palsy athlete from Australia competing mainly in throwing events. She competed in the F36 classification at the 2008, 2012 and the 2016 Summer Paralympics, winning medals at each Game. Following a medical review request in early 2017, she now competes in seated throws in the F32 classification. At the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships she threw 7.04m in the Women's Shot Put Secured event, bettering the Women's F32 shot put world record mark of 6.55m.
Ntombizanele Situ, better known as Zanele Situ, was a South African Paralympian athlete competing mainly in category F54 throwing events. Specialising in the javelin throw, Situ was a two-time gold medalist at both the Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships and was the first female South African black athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal.
Rosemary Little is an Australian Paralympic athlete. She won a bronze medal in wheelchair racing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and has also competed in handcycling. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her third Games, where switched from wheelchair racing to shot put. She competed in the shot put and club throw at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Aled Siôn Davies is a British Paralympian athlete competing mainly in category F42 throwing events. In 2012 he became the world record holder of the F42 shot put and in the 2012 Summer Paralympics he took the bronze medal in shot put and gold in the discus. In 2013 Davies took the World Championship gold in both the shot put and discus in Lyon. He won double gold in his home country at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in the shot put and discus. This followed his silver medal in the F42-44 discus from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he represented Wales. Davies also took part in the Channel 4 TV series Celebrity SAS: Who dares wins
Men's discus throw events for wheelchair athletes were held at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the Athens Olympic Stadium. Events were held in eight disability classes, F51 being held jointly with F32 cerebral palsy athletes.
Zena Cole is an American Paralympic discus thrower, who has competed at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, winning a bronze medal in London.
The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, from 94 different countries. The event was held in the Stade du Rhône located at the Parc de Parilly in Vénissieux, in Lyon Metropolis.
Claudiney Batista dos Santos is a Brazilian Paralympian athlete competing in category F57/T57 throwing events. He won a silver medal in the javelin throw at the 2012 Paralympics and a gold medal in the discus throw at the 2016 Rio Games.
Alphanso Cunningham is a Paralympian athlete from Jamaica competing mainly in category F53 throwing events.
Guy Nicholas Henly is an Australian Paralympic athlete. He currently competes in discus and shot put and has won medals at the 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Sundar Singh Gurjar an Indian Paralympic athlete from Rajasthan. He competes in javelin throw, shot put and discus throw in F46 category events. He won bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in men's javelin F46 event. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics at Paris.
Diāna Krumina née Dadzīte is a Latvian Paralympic track and field athlete competing in shot put, discus and javelin throw, and is twice Paralympic javelin champion.
Oney Tapia is a visually impaired Italian-Cuban Paralympic athlete competing in discus throw and shot put events. He represented Italy at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won the silver medal in the men's discus throw F11 event. He represented Italy at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the discus throw and shot put events, winning two bronze medals.
Zoia Ovsii is a Ukrainian Paralympic athlete competing in F51-classification throwing events. She won the gold medal in the women's club throw F51 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She also won the bronze medal in the women's discus throw F53 event. She won two medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Akeem Stewart is a Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic athlete with F43 disability classification. He competes in discus throw, javelin throw and shot put events.
Mauricio Valencia is a Colombian Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy. He represented Colombia at the Summer Paralympics in 2012, 2016 and 2021. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, he won two medals: the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F34 event and the bronze medal in the men's shot put F34 event. In 2021, he won the silver medal in the men's javelin throw F34 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Tom Habscheid is a Paralympic athlete from Luxembourg. He is a two-time silver medalist at the World Para Athletics Championships and a six-time medalist at the World Para Athletics European Championships.
André Luis da Rocha Antunes is a Brazilian para-athlete specializing in throwing events: discus throw and shot put. He represented Brazil at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.