| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Arj, Duracell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 November 1981 Tirana, Albania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability | Retinitis pigmentosa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 metres 200 metres Long jump | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fiamme Azzurre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Emanuele Di Marino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Arjola Dedaj (born 26 November 1981 in Tirana, Albania) is a blind Italian Paralympic athlete who competes in sprinting and long jump events in international level events. [1]
Dedaj was born in Albania, she was discriminated by her visual impairment which she has had since the age of three years old because there were no schools in Albania that could provide her an education. She immigrated to Italy in a rubber dinghy in 1998 along with her father and brother to join her mother who was in Milan. [2] [3]
She and her partner Emanuele Di Marino, who is her training partner and also participates in Paralympic track and field events are referred to as "La coppia dei sogni" ("the dream couple" in Italian). [4]
Assunta Legnante is a visually impaired Italian shot putter. She has competed in both the Olympics and the Paralympics, one of the few athletes to do so. As of February 2013, she is the current F11 shot put world record holder. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's discus throw F11, and Women's shot put F12, winning silver medals.
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at six Paralympic Games, winning 30 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
Elizabeth Gemma Clegg, is a British Paralympic sprinter and tandem track cyclist who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain at international events. She represented Great Britain in the T12 100m and 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning a silver medal in the T12 100m race. She won Gold in Rio at the 2016 Paralympic Games in 100m T11 where she broke the world record and T11 200m, beating the previous Paralympic record in the process, thus making her a double Paralympic champion.
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Kathryn Ross is an Australian Paralympic rower. She is a four-time world champion who has participated at four Paralympics from 2008 to 2020, winning a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. She set a world's best time in the PR2 1X event at the 2019 World Rowing Championships.
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Arjola Trimi is an Italian Paralympic swimmer competing in S4 classification events. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's 4 × 50 mixed freestyle relay, winning a silver medal.
Vanessa Low is a German-born Australian Paralympic athlete competing in T42 sprint and long jump events. Born in East Germany, she gained Australian nationality in June 2017.
Taylor Doyle is an Australian Paralympic athlete with an intellectual and physical disability. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics.
Lynda Hamri is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from Algeria competing mainly in T12 classification sprint and long jump events. Hamri represented Algeria at two Summer Paralympics, winning a silver in the long jump at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and a bronze in the same event four years later in Rio de Janeiro. Hamri has also won two silver medals at the IPC World Championships, both in the long jump, at Lyon in 2013 and at Doha in 2015.
McKenzie Coan is an American swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she swam the 400m Freestyle in the S8 category. Coan was one of four S8 category swimmers chosen to compete for Team USA at the games. She later had her breakout games in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, where she would go on to win 3 gold medals in the category S7 50, 100, and 400M Freestyle races, with an additional silver medal in the 34-point women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay. In the process of getting her gold medal in the 50M Freestyle she also set a new Paralympic Record.
Lauritta Onye is a Paralympian athlete who competes in F40 classification throwing events. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro winning gold in the F40 shot put. Onye is also an actress, performing under the name Laury White.
Arianna Talamona is an Italian Paralympic swimmer who competes in international level events.
Giuseppina "Giusy" Versace is an Italian Paralympic athlete who competes in sprinting events in international level events and a television presenter and member of the Senate for the Action party.
Xenia Francesca Palazzo is an Italian Paralympic swimmer of Russian descent who competes in international level events, She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's 100m Backstroke - S8, Women's 200 individual medley SM8 winning a silver medal, Women's 4×100 freestyle relay P34 winning a gold medal, Women's 400 freestyle S8 winning a bronze medal and in Women's 50 metre freestyle S8, winning a bronze medal.
