Brazil's Daniel Dias is one of the most awarded Paralympic swimmers with 24 medals from Beijing 2008 to Rio 2016 ⒸBuda Mendes/Getty Images
Para swimming has been part of the Paralympic Games programme since the first edition at Rome 1960 and has featured some of the greatest names in the Games history.
From a swimmer with 41 Paralympic gold medals to the first refugee athlete, here are some of the most memorable Para swimming moments.
Sensational Zorn
The most decorated Paralympian in history, USA’s swimmer Trisha Zorn competed in the last of her seven Games at Athens 2004. She left Greece with a bronze in the 100m backstroke S12 – her 55th Paralympic medal (41 of them gold).
Paralympic Olympian
After becoming the first amputee swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008, Natalie du Toit competed at her second Paralympics in China taking five gold medals in five events. The South African star retired after London 2012 with 13 Paralympic golds.
Rio crowd goes wild
Daniel Dias was one of the faces of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and he did not disappoint the Brazilian crowd. Fans at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio went wild as Dias took his total of Paralympic medals to 24, more than any other male swimmer in the Games history.
Super Ellie
A 17-year-old Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Simmonds won the hearts of British fans at the 2012 Paralympic Games with four medals, including two gold and two world records at the London Aquatics Centre.
More than sport
Ibrahim Al Hussein became the first refugee swimmer to compete in the Paralympic Games. He carried the flag of the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team at the Opening Ceremony in Rio 2016 and took part in the 50m and 100m freestyle S9.
Para swimming has featured in every edition of the Paralympic Games and today is one of the biggest and most-watched Para sports practised in around 100 countries.
World Para Swimming, under the governance of the International Paralympic Committee, acts as the international federation for the sport and is based in Bonn, Germany.
World Para Swimming uses the same rules as its Olympic counterpart, the International Swimming Federation (FINA), with some modifications where needed.
Swimming is open to female and male athletes in all eligible impairment groups who compete in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, medley and relay events.
Seventy-seven swimmers – all with spinal-cord injuries – from 15 countries competed at the first Paralympics in Rome in 1960.
Amputee and vision impaired athletes were included in the sport programme at Toronto 1976, while cerebral palsy swimmers competed for the first time at Arnhem 1980.
Rio 2016 saw a total of 593 athletes from 79 countries in the water.
USA’s Trischa Zorn is the most successful swimmer in Paralympic Games history with 46 medals (32 golds) from 1980 to 2004.
Brazil’s Daniel Dias is the most awarded Para swimmer among active athletes. Since his debut at Beijing 2008, Dias has collected 24 medals (14 golds) to his name.
The most important international Para swimming event after the Paralympic Games is the World Championships organised every two years by World Para Swimming.
Valletta, Malta, hosted the first World Championships in 1994 with nearly 500 athletes from 44 countries.
The last edition took place in London, Great Britain, in 2019 with 639 swimmers representing 77 nations.
Italy topped the medals table for the first time with 20 golds, 18 silvers and 12 bronze.
About Post Author
