Marla Lee Runyan is an American track and field athlete, road runner and marathon runner who is legally blind. She is a three-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres. She is also an athlete that competed in both the Paralympics and the Olympics, both reaching the finals.
Haider Ali is an all-around Pakistani para-athlete who created history at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China by winning Pakistan's first ever Paralympic games medal, a silver. He also shared a new world record with his jump of 6.44 meters at the Games. He has competed at the Paralympics on five occasions in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. He has the unique record of winning a country's first ever Paralympic gold, silver and bronze medals as he is the only Pakistani to have won a medal in Paralympic history. On 3 September 2021, he became the first gold medalist for Pakistan at the Paralympics. In the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, he became the first Pakistani Para athlete to win a medal at the World Para Athletics Championships, a silver.
Abderrahim Zhiou is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category T12 middle-distance events. He is a six-time Paralympiclympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the Tunisian Federation of Sports for the Disabled team based at Gabès.
Odair Santos is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from Brazil competing mainly in T11 classification middle and long-distance events. A veteran of four Paralympics, Santos has won nine Paralympic medals, including five silver medals. Santos is also a four time IPC World champion at the 1,500 metres event, being unbeaten from 2006 to 2015.
Ignacio Ávila Rodríguez is a Paralympian athlete and cyclist from Spain competing mainly in category T12 middle-distance events in athletics, and in track time trial, track pursuit, road time trial and road race.
Sanaa Benhama is a Paralympic athlete from Morocco competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. She has competed at two Summer Paralympics, most notably at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China where she won three gold medals dominating the sprint field in her class.
Nantenin Keïta is a French athlete who competes mainly in Paralympic category T13 sprint events. She is the daughter of the Malian musician Salif Keita and thus a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. Like her father, she was born with albinism, and is visually impaired.
Namibia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. These were the first Summer Paralympics to be held since the country's accession to independence from South Africa in 1990, and thus the first Games in which Namibia was able to take part. For its inaugural participation, the country sent just two athletes, both women, who both competed in discus, javelin and shot put. They did not win any medals.
Morocco made its Paralympic Games début at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul. It was represented by an all-male team, with five competitors in athletics, three in swimming, and a wheelchair basketball team. Abdeljalal Biare won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle in swimming - Morocco's sole medal of the 1988 Games.
Sandra James is a Zimbabwean former athlete, who won eleven medals across four different sports at the Paralympic Games.
El Salvador first competed in the Paralympic Games at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. It has participated in the Summer Paralympic Games every four years since that time. El Salvador has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics, and until Tokyo 2020, no Salvadorian had won a Paralympic medal. In 2021, Herbert Aceituno became the first athlete to win a medal, earning bronze in powerlifting at the 59 kg category.
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.
Hania Aidi is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F54 javelin throw events. Aidi has competed at four consecutive Summer Paralympics, winning silver medals at three of the Games. She is also a three time World Championships winner medalist and has held the F54 javelin world record on numerous occasions throughout her career.
Algeria competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. It was the country's third participation in the Summer Paralympic Games. Its delegation consisted in six track and field athletes and two competitors in powerlifting. Sprinter Mohamed Allek, who has cerebral palsy, won all of Algeria's medals at these Games - three gold.
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.
Rheed McCracken is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor. He named the 2012 Junior Athlete of the Year as part of the Australian Paralympian of the Year Awards. He represented Australia at the 2012 London Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where he won three silver and two bronze medals. He will be competing at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his fourth Games.
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.
Kenya competed at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. 15 competitors from Kenya won 2 medals, 1 gold and 1 bronze to finish 41st in the medal table. 13-year-old Mary Nakhumica made her Paralympic debut, winning Kenya's only gold in the women's javelin throw THW7 event.
Mona Ullmann is a Norwegian paralympic athlete. She competed in athletics, including javelin throw, shot put, discus throw, long jump and combined events.
