David Weir, Dan Greaves and John Cavanagh boast 16 Paralympic medals between them and will be looking for more as they head to the 2016 Paralympic Games.
The trio head a list of 13 south-west London athletes descending on Rio for the Games, which begin on Wednesday and last until September 18.
Wheelchair athlete Weir, from Wallington, is one of Team GB’s best-known Paralympians having won four gold medals at London 2012 – to make 10 Paralympic medals in total – and inspiring chants of Weirwolf.
His success saw the launch of the Weir Archer Academy in partnership with his coach Jenny Archer, and there are three athletes from that programme competing in Rio.
Greaves, who trains in Richmond, has four Paralympic medals to his name having won discus gold in Athens and silver in Sydney, Beijing and London.
Wandsworth archer Cavanagh is going into his fifth Olympic Games and won gold in Athens and silver in Beijing.
Here’s a complete rundown of the south west Paralympians to cheer on.
Archery:
Tania Nadarajah from Banstead heads to Rio for her first Olympics to compete in the individual recurve event.
The 36-year-old was paralysed following a motorcycle accident in 2009, after which she spent 10 months in hospital recovering.
She joined an archery club and was talent spotted by the Paralympic Selection Team and fast-tracked into the GB squad in 2014.
John Cavanagh, a 60-year-old from Wandsworth, has been professionally competing for 26 years.
After being introduced to archery via the Stoke Mandeville Hospital National Spinal Injuries Centre, Cavanagh was selected for the GB squad in 1995.
Since winning gold in Athens in 2004, Cavanagh has won an individual silver at the para-archery European Championships in 2014 and will want another Paralympic medal in the individual compound W1.
Athletics:
David Weir will be going for five gold medals in Rio to go with the six he already has from previous Games.
The 37-year-old will be in the T53 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 400m relay and marathon.
Together with his coach Jenny Archer he set up the Weir Archer Academy to give other disabled athletes in south London opportunities to train and be coached – and a trio of their athletes will be competing in Rio alongside him.
Toby Gold, 22, will be in T33 100m action, Mickey Bushell, 26, will compete in the T53 100m, 200m, 400m and 400m relay, and Moetez Jomni, 27, will be in the T53 100m, 400m, 800m and 400m relay.
Dan Greaves, 33, trains in Richmond and is after a second F44 discus gold medal, while fellow Richmond trainer Abbie Hunnisett, 20, will be competing in the F32 club throw.
Cycling:
Corrine Hall, a 25-year-old track cycling pilot from Mitcham, will represent Great Britain with her partner Lora Turnham in the visually impaired event.
They will be hoping to build on their bronze medal success earlier this year in the tandem pursuit at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships.
Equestrian:
Natasha Baker MBE, is a 26-year-old double Paralympic equestrian gold-medallist and five-time European champion born in Hammersmith.
Baker has been training hard for the last four years and is determined to build on her 2012 success – where she won individual gold and freestyle gold – this year in Rio.
Sailing:
Alexandra Rickham, a 34-year-old sailor from Epsom, won bronze in 2012 in the SKUD-18 two-person keelboat event with Niki Birrell and will be competing in her third Games in Rio.
Table Tennis:
Aaron McKibbin, a 25-year-old table tennis player from Wandsworth, brought home a bronze medal at London 2012 in the men’s 6-8 event, alongside Ross Wilson and Will Bayley.
Following a good end to 2015 where he won gold in the 2015 China Open, McKibbin now has his sights on a class eight individual gold.
Wheelchair Tennis:
Andy Lapthorne, a 25-year-old tennis player from Hammersmith, has been playing wheelchair tennis for 11 years and won silver in the quad doubles at London 2012.
Since then he has enjoyed a lot of success on court, winning the singles title at the 2014 US Open and doubles title at the 2014 and 2015 Australian Open.
Feature image courtesy of Paralympic Games, via Youtube, with thanks
