After a fascinating Olympic Games, the fever of the event shows no signs of slowing down as the Paralympics are set to begin in Tokyo.
The Great Britain team for the Paralympics will feature 220 athletes competing across 19 sports for a shot at history.
After a 12-month delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, Team GB is made up by a combination of savvy experience and exciting youth as the team looks to improve upon their incredible showing at Rio 2016, where they won 147 medals.
Here are some of the key domestic heroes to watch in Tokyo.
Dave Ellis - Para-triathlon
Ellis first attempted qualification to become a Paralympian as a swimmer in the 2008 Games in Beijing, but he missed out on selection for London four years later.
In the aftermath, he switched to triathlon - a sport that wasn’t included in the Rio programme but has since been selected for Tokyo.
Ellis has won European and World gold alongside his sighted guide Luke Pollard, and he is currently ranked fourth in the world.
The 35-year-old won at the recent World Triathlon Para Series event in Leeds, and Ellis will hope to replicate the success he had in Tokyo when he won the World Cup event in 2019.
Maisie Summers-Newton - Para-swimming
Despite only turning 19 last month, Summers-Newton is a force to be reckoned with in the pool.
A world and European champion - as well as a world record holder - the Northampton swimmer was inspired by London 2012 and teammate Ellie Simmonds.
The duo both have achondroplasia and Summers-Newton said watching Simmonds race and win inspired her to take up swimming herself.
She took Simmonds’ world title in the 200m individual medley back in 2019 and is hoping to do the same in Tokyo where her 26-year-old teammate is eyeing a third Paralympic title in the race.
Summers-Newton is also competing in the SB6 100m breaststroke.
Jaco van Gass - Para-cycling
It’s been a long road to the Tokyo Games for Jaco van Gass.
He was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade when serving in the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan back in 2009, leaving him with a collapsed lung, shrapnel wounds, internal injuries and leg injuries.
The 34-year-old also lost his left arm at the elbow, and he used sport as a key motivation in his rehab, trekking to the North Pole, winning gold at the Invictus Games, and competing in several marathons among other activities.
He missed out on selection for Rio, but van Gass travels to Tokyo as a triple world champion on the track and he is gunning for Olympic glory across five races on both track and road.
David Weir - Para-athletics
Entering his sixth Games at the age of 42, David Weir’s road to Tokyo has not been easy.
After starring at London 2012 with four gold medals, Weir left Rio without a single medal.
Weir revealed he was dealing with mental health issues and announced his retirement from international competition - but in 2018, he said he would race in the marathon.
He has since rediscovered his love for track racing and set a new personal best in the 1500m earlier this year.
Thomas Young - Para-athletics
An athlete all his life, Young only discovered he was eligible to compete in the Paralympics when he was 17.
The 21-year-old was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 when he was 12, which is a condition that causes typically non-cancerous tumours to grow along nerves and affect balance and coordination.
The Croydon-native made a huge splash on his debut for Team GB at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin as he won gold in both the T38 100m and 200m.
Young won silver in the 100m at the 2019 World Championships, narrowly losing to China’s Dening Zhu.
He retained his European title in June and Young will undoubtedly be eyeing a podium place in Tokyo.
