With a continuous momentum in new world records set during this year's Paralympic Games, this year’s Games is breaking records in more ways than one. Officially the most inclusive sports event in history, Tokyo Paralympics also announced that it had the biggest number of female competitors in its history.
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Highlights.
As the world watched Paralympians conquer world records, beat personal best and triumph on the track, in the pool and in competition, this year’s Paralympics has much to be proud of.
With a record number of LGBTQI+ athletes competing, Tokyo Paralympic Games has officially been named the most inclusive sports event ever. In addition to this stunning statistic, there were also 1,853 female athletes competing, an almost 11 per cent increase on Rio 2016 and making it the biggest number of women ever to compete in the Games’ history.
Individuals wowed in their events from day one, from China’s 16-year old Jiang Yuyan becoming the youngest Paralympian to win gold swimming to GB’s Reece Dunn claiming his third Gold medal of the Games with a world-record-breaking swim in the men’s SM14 200m individual medley after suffering injuries this year, this years Games bought names to new levels.
Sri Lanka won their first ever gold at a Paralympic Games, India claimed their first ever women’s gold in shooting and Afghanistan athletes embodied determination after being evacuated from Kabul last week in order to compete in Tokyo.
Take a look at our Paralympic Highlights Collection for the moments that moved, changed and shocked.
16-year old Jiang Yuyan became the youngest Paralympian to win gold swimming.
Wheelchair fencer, Beatrice Vio of Italy won gold in the foil B category.
Afghanistan athlete, Hossain Rasouli competed in the men’s long jump-T47 belatedly after being evacuated from Kabul to Paris.
Afghanistan teammate Zakia Khudadadi became Afghanistan’s first female athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games since 2004. Competing in the women’s K44-49kg weight category in taekwondo.
Competing in the men’s shot put F20 final under protest, three athletes from Australia, Ecuador and Malaysia had their appeal rejected by the World Para Athletics Jury of Appeal and were given DNS results.
18-year-old Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes who won Cuba’s first gold of these Games with a world record leap of 7.46m in the men’s T47 long jump.
Visually impaired T11 100m’s athletes competed in the pouring rain. After Brazil’s Jerusa Geber Dos Santos and Thalita da Silva Costa who came in third, were both disqualified, Venezuela’s Linda Perez Lopez won gold and Liu Cuiqing of China took the silver.
Stephanie Grebe took the bronze for Germany in the women’s singles class 6 table tennis.
Saeid Afrooz of Iran competes in the men’s F34 javelin throw, winning gold.
Teresa Perales of Spain won the 27th medal in swimming.
Mexican sprinter Jose Rodolfo Chessani Garcia celebrates after winning gold for the men s T38 400 meters
19-year-old Avani Lekhara became the first woman from India to win a shooting Paralympics gold medal.
China’s Tao Zheng wins gold in the men’s 50m Backstroke S5 Final.
Ibrahim Elhusseiny Hamadtou of Egypt competed against Chen Chao of China in the men’s singles class 6 match.
Sarah Storey of Great Britain won her second gold medal of these Games to level with the swimmer Mike Kenny as the joint-most successful British Paralympian of all time.