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Expand's 4 Best Paralympic Moments

Updated: Feb 14, 2023

With the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games beginning at the end of the month and all of the athletes from Britain and around the world ready and raring to go, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the most inspiring moments from Paralympic games history... And then we realised just how many of them there were - so, we've toned things down a bit and instead focused on our 4 best Paralympic moments from recent editions of the games - check them out, and be ready for even more in the weeks to come!

Matt Stutzman Archery Silver Medal Paralympics

1: American Archer Matt Stutzman You might be familiar with Archery from the likes of Robin Hood, but have you ever seen it done like this? We open our list of best Paralympic moments with American athlete Matt Stutzman - who was born without arms, but still won a Silver medal in Archery through a technique that sees him hold his bow with his right foot and pull back the arrow with his teeth! Take a look at this piece from CBS Sunday Morning for more about Matt's story so far.

Rim Ju Song Paralympic Swimmer Korea

2: Rim Ju-Song Makes History Rim Ju Song from North Korea was the last to cross the finish line in his 50-metre freestyle race, that wasn't the story though. Despite the result, he earned himself a place in Paralympic history by becoming the first Paralympian to represent North Korea at the Games... And did so having only learnt to swim that year.


Eleanore "Ellie" Robinson MBE Swimmer Paralympics Gold

3: Ellie Robinson No British-made list of best Paralympic moments could be complete without mentioning Eleanore "Ellie" Robinson MBE. Competing in the S6 50-metre butterfly and 100-metres, Ellie set World Records for both at just 13 years old, and you can see her gold medal winning swim in Rio here!

Achmat Hassiem Swimmer "Shark Boy" Paralympics

4: Roland Ezuruike at Rio 2016 Last but not least on our list of best Paralympic moments, Nigerian powerlifter Roland Ezuruike's performance at the Rio 2016 games. Not only did he take home the Gold medal, but his lift of 200kg set a new World Record too, and amazingly represents around 4 times his body weight!

Roland Ezuruike Nigeria Gold Paralympics Powerlifting

Feeling inspired after reading about our five best Paralympic moments? We definitely are - and male or female, in a team sport or for individual honours, we're ready to see what the athletes at the Tokyo 2020 games have in store for us. Keep an eye on your local television listings for when and where you can catch what's sure to be some great sporting action. In addition you may also want to check out the ExpHand blog for more - including this piece on sports for those with limb differences, and our profile on Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman.

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