Song Lingling (born 17 January 1996) is a Chinese Paralympic swimmer competing in the S6 class. She has won two silver and a gold paralympic medal.
Song was born in 1996 and she lost the use of her legs due to polio. [2] She took up swimming in Shenyang in 2009 and her club coach was Li Jianhui. Her swimming hero was Ning Zetao. In 2010 at the IPC Swimming World Championships at Eindhoven in the Netherlands she gained a silver and a bronze medal swimming freestyle and a gold medal in the 4x50m medley. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London she won a silver medal in the SB5 100 m backstroke (S6). [3]
At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio she won a gold medal in the 100m backstroke (S6). Her team mate Lu Dong took the silver. [4] In the 200 metres she took another silver medal after being beaten by Ellie Simmonds of Great Britain.
Song was at the World Para Swimming Allianz Championships in 2019 in London. She was the world record holder and she competed in the 100m backstroke S6 and took silver to the gold gained by Verena Schott of Germany. [5]
In 2020 she was at the Paralympic games in Tokyo where she competed in freestyle and breaststroke. She made the finals at several events but did not finish with a medal. [3]
The world's largest trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, gave her the National May 1st Labour Medal. [3]
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 five Paralympic Games, winning 29 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four Summer Paralympic Games from 2008, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Nyree Elise Kindred MBE is a Welsh swimmer who has competed in the Paralympic Games on four occasions winning ten medals.
Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships.
Matthew Anthony "Matt" Haanappel, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He was born in Wantirna, Victoria and resides in the far eastern suburbs of Melbourne. He has cerebral palsy right hemiplegia. Haanappel has represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships, the 2014 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He represents the Camberwell Grammar School Aquatic club.
Tanya Huebner is an Australian swimmer. She has represented Australia at the 2012 London and the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Hannah Russell, is a British Paralympic swimmer competing in S12 classification events. In 2012, she became British S12 champion in the 100m backstroke and qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games where she won a silver in the 400m freestyle and a bronze in the 100m butterfly. In the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, she won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke with the time of 1:06:06 earning her the World Record.
Bethany Charlotte Firth, is a Northern Irish Paralympic swimmer. Since 2014 she has competed for Great Britain; previously, Firth had represented Ireland. A six time Paralympic gold medalist, she has won gold in her specialist event - the 100 metres backstroke - for both Ireland at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Great Britain at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics. These were in addition to the Mixed 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay S14 at the 2020 Games, and 200 metres medley and 200 metres freestyle for Great Britain at the 2016 Games, where she was the nation's most successful Paralympian with three golds and a silver medal. She competes in the S14 classification for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
Jessica-Jane Applegate MBE is a British Paralympic swimmer. Applegate competes in the S14 classification for swimmers with intellectual disabilities, mainly freestyle and backstroke preferring shorter distances. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and on 2 September, Applegate won the gold setting a Paralympic record in the S14 200m freestyle.
Stephanie Millward is a British Paralympic swimmer.
Natalie Jones is a British Paralympic swimmer. She competes in S6 classification events and has represented Great Britain at four Paralympics winning five medals, including two golds at Athens in 2004.
Verena Schott is a German paraswimmer and Paralympic medal winner.
Tiffany Thomas Kane, is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, winning a gold and three bronze medals, and at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a further two bronze medals.
Jeanette Clare Chippington, is a British Paralympic swimmer and paracanoeist. Chippington has represented Great Britain at seven Paralympics, five in swimming Summer Paralympics, 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Competing as a S6 classification swimmer she favoured mainly 50 m and 100m freestyle competitions. After retiring from swimming Chippington returned to disability sport, becoming a world class paracanoeist, winning gold at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and bronze at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Eleanor "Ellie" Robinson is an English retired swimmer. Competing in SB6 and S6 classification events, Robinson holds the World record and the Paralympic record in the S6 50m butterfly and the World record in the 100m, setting both at the age of 13.
Zheng Tao is a Chinese para swimmer and five-time Paralympic champion. He is known as the "armless swimmer". He made a world record by winning 4 gold medals in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic.
Lu Dong is a Chinese Paralympic swimmer, who won gold and silver medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. She got 38.28 seconds on 50m butterfly. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics she won four gold medals with three world record. Lu lost both her arms after being hit by a motorist at age six.
Oksana Khrul is a Ukrainian para-swimmer, competing in S6, SM6 and SB7 categories.
Nicole Turner, of Portarlington, Laois, is an Irish para-swimmer, competing mainly in the S6, short stature category.
Thijs van Hofweegen is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer with cerebral palsy. He is a silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a gold medalist in several events at the 2018 World Para Swimming European Championships held in Dublin, Ireland. He also won the bronze medal in the men's 50 metre freestyle S6 event at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships held in Madeira.