The Paralympic Games begin in Paris on Wednesday, just weeks after the flame of the corresponding Olympic Games in Paris was extinguished.
Over 4,400 athletes with a wide range of life-threatening disabilities will compete for medals in 22 sports over eleven days. Only two of these sports do not have an Olympic equivalent: bocce and goalball.
At the Paralympics, athletes are divided into three groups (physical, visual and mental disabilities) according to the degree of their impairment in order to ensure fair competition.
RELATED STORY | First American woman to lose a limb in active combat in Iraq: On the attitude of the Paralympic participant
This year’s U.S. Paralympic team consists of 225 members, including five guides, and is an equal mix of men and women. 141 Paralympians will be returning and 78 athletes will be making their debut.
There are several names to watch on Team USA during the competition.
Swimmer Jessica Long, a 29-time Paralympic medalist and the second most successful U.S. Paralympian of all time, will be back this year, as will track and field star Tatyana McFadden, who has the chance to make history as the most successful American in the sport when she once again stands at the top of the podium.
Oksana Masters, an athlete in both sports and coincidentally the most successful Winter Paralympic competitor of all time, will attempt to repeat her double gold title in road cycling.
RELATED STORY | The USA tied with China for gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris, but are the overall winners
Masters isn’t the only athlete with multiple seasons behind him, though. Para-Nordic skiers Aaron Pike and Kendall Gretsch will be returning to compete in para-track and para-triathlon, respectively, just two years after they all competed at the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.
Sarah Adam will be the first woman to represent the US wheelchair rugby team at the Paralympics. The team is one of the favorites to win a medal in Paris, led by Paralympian Charles “Chuck” Aoki.
Who can forget the legendary moment when Hunter Woodhall congratulated his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall after she won gold in the long jump at the Paris Olympics? Now it’s his turn to compete in para-athletics.
Nick Mayhugh set the world record in the men’s 100m sprint in the T37 class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is now hoping to win gold again.
The youngest member of the U.S. team is 15-year-old archer Jordan White, while archer Marco De La Rosa is the oldest competitor at 52. According to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, there are four athletes under the age of 18 on the team.
The largest group of Team USA athletes will compete in track and field events known as Para Athletics.
Team USA consists of representatives from 38 states, with most athletes coming from California, Illinois and Texas.
The Paralympics in Paris begin with the opening ceremony on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) in Paris.
