The 16th Summer Paralympic Games are set to kick off next week as Team USA’s 225-person roster features 141 returning Paralympians.
The Games will begin on Wednesday and run through September 8 featuring 22 sports, including most-popular wheelchair basketball, track and field, goalball and swimming.
Among the stars to watch is Nick Mayhugh, sprinting sensation who took Tokyo by storm in 2020 with his record-shattering speed, Abbas Karimi, the refugee swimmer whose journey from war-torn Afghanistan to the Paralympic pool is nothing short of miraculous and track and field athlete Hunter Woodhall – husband of Paris gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall – will make his third Paralympic debut in Paris.
Since their beginning in 1960 the Paralympic Games have evolved into a global spectacle, showcasing athletes who redefine the limits of human potential.
Here, DailyMail.com takes a look at the athletes representing the Stars and Stripes in the French capital.
Hunter Woodhall headlines the Paralympic stars representing Team USA in Paris
Oksana Masters
This year’s Paralympic cycle features Oksana Masters, 35, a highly decorated Team USA Paralympian known for her versatility across multiple sports.
Born in Ukraine in 1989 with significant birth defects due to radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Masters spent most of her early years in and out of orphanages. She was later adopted by an American, Gay Masters, and moved to the US in 1997.
Masters, of Louisville, Kentucky, underwent amputations during her childhood – her left leg at age nine and right at 14 as they became painful and unable to support her weight. She also had surgery to modify her innermost fingers on each hand so they could function as thumbs.
She began her Paralympic career in rowing, earning a bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, but didn’t stop there. She went on to excel in other disciplines, including cross-country skiing, biathlon and cycling. She competed in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games where she has won numerous medals across different events.
As of 2021, Masters has accumulated 17 Paralympic medals, including eight golds, making her one of the most successful Paralympians in US history.
Masters will compete in handcycling on September 4 and 5.
Oksana Masters has accumulated 17 Paralympic medals, including eight golds
She was in Ukraine in 1989 with significant birth defects due to radiation exposure
Hunter Woodhall
Hunter Woodhall, 25, was born with fibular hemimelia having both of his legs amputated below the knee at just 11 months old.
Raised in Syracuse, Utah, Woodhall was homeschooled until fifth grade. As he entered public school, Woodhall frequently experienced bullying for his disability.
After initially being given prosthetic legs, he eventually switched to ‘blades’ for running and joined his high school track team. Woodhall would become the first double amputee to earn a Division I track and field scholarship competing for the University of Arkansas.
Woodhall’s Paralympic career took off at the 2016 Rio Games, where he won a silver medal in the 200 meters and a bronze in the 400 meters, running 21.12 seconds and 48.61 seconds, respectively.
His influence extends beyond the track as he uses his platform to advocate for the inclusion and visibility of athletes with disabilities in mainstream sports along with his wife, Tara Davis-Woodhall, a fellow elite athlete and Paris 2024 gold medalist in the long jump. Together, they form a powerful duo in the sports world, both achieving remarkable success in their respective fields.
Woodhall will compete in the 100-meter prelim on September 1 and the 400 meters on September 6.
Woodhall was born with fibular hemimelia having both of his legs amputated below the knee
The 25-year-old is married to Tara Davis-Woodhall, who won long jump gold at the Olympics
Nick Mayhugh
Nick Mayhugh, 28, born with cerebral palsy, is a standout athlete in the world of Paralympic sports having set multiple world records, including in the 100 meters running 10.95 seconds.
Initially focused on soccer, Mayhugh, of Manassas, Virginia, played at Radford University from 2015 to 2018 before earning the first ever bronze medal for the US men’s Paralympic soccer team in 2019. He finished second in the tournament with eight goals in six games and was named US Soccer Player of the Year with a Disability.
He transitioned away from soccer to track and field making his Paralympic track debut at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Mayhugh competed in the 400 meters earning a silver medal in 50.26. He also competed in the mixed – male and female – 4×100 meters, winning gold.
Mayhugh will compete in the 100-meter prelim on September 1.
Nick Mayhugh, 28, born with cerebral palsy, is a standout athlete in the world of Paralympics
Mayhugh set the world record in the 100 meters running 10.95 seconds in Tokyo
Abbas Karimi
Abbas Karimi, 27, went from refugee to world-class athlete. Born in Afghanistan in 1997 without arms, Karimi faced significant challenges from a young age, including navigating a country torn by conflict and a society that often marginalized people with disabilities.
Despite these obstacles, Karimi, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, discovered his passion for swimming at the age of 13 when he won his first competition at the Afghan national championships.
At the age of 16 he fled Afghanistan and lived in a refugee camp in Turkey for several years. He continued to train and compete earning multiple medals at international competitions – including two Turkish national championships.
In 2016 he was granted refugee status in the United States where he began training with the hope of competing for Team USA.
His hard work paid off when he qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, representing the US where he earned an eighth-place finish.
Karimi will compete in the 50-meter butterfly on August 29.
Abbas Karimi (center) was granted refugee status in the United States back in 2016
Born in Afghanistan in 1997 without arms, he faced significant challenges from a young age
Tatyana McFadden
Tatyana McFadden, 35, renowned for her dominance in wheelchair racing was born in Leningrad, then Soviet Union, with spina bifida and spent the first six years of her life in an orphanage before being adopted by an American family.
McFadden, of Baltimore, Maryland, has competed in every Paralympic Games since Athens 2004, amassing 20 Paralympic medals, including seven golds, across distances ranging from 100 meters to the marathon. She has achieved unprecedented success in marathon racing, winning all four major world marathons – Boston, Chicago, London and New York – in a single year, multiple times.
In addition to her track and field accolades McFadden has also competed in the Winter Paralympic Games as a Nordic skier.
Beyond her athletic career McFadden is a fierce advocate for disability rights and inclusion. She has been instrumental in advancing accessibility in sports and education, including playing a key role in the passage of the 2013 Maryland Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act, known as ‘Tatyana’s Law’.
McFadden has also co-authored a children’s book, ‘Ya Sama! Moments from My Life’ and co-produced and starred in the Netflix documentary ‘Rising Pheonix’ in 2020. She and her sister, Hannah, became the first siblings to compete in the Paralympics.
McFadden will compete in the paracycling on August 29.
Tatyana McFadden renowned for her dominance in wheelchair racing with 20 medals
Bobby Body
Bobby Body, 50, is a rising star in the world of Team USA Paralympic athletics – abandoned by his mother at a Texas bus stop at five years old, left to fend for himself, Body enlisted in the US army and was in a vehicle hit by an IED and would lose his left leg from the explosion.
Two years after his amputation, in 2015, he discovered powerlifting but it wasn’t until 2021 that he got into para powerlifting.
The Paralympic team first reached out to Body in 2015 and again in 2018 and 2019. The committee eventually reached out for a fourth and final time in 2021 and the rest is history.
A double silver medalist at the 2023 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Dubai, Body went on to claim gold at the Parapan American Games.
Body, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, has competed in several major competitions representing the US in various international events.
Powerlifter Bobby Body, 50, is a rising star in the world of Team USA Paralympic sports
While deployed in Iraq, Body was hit by an IED forcing him to ultimately have his leg amputated
Body is also a mentor and role model for aspiring athletes with disabilities. He actively engages in community outreach and advocacy, sharing his story to inspire others to chase their dreams regardless of the obstacles they may face.
Body will compete in the powerlifting on September 4.
The US Paralympic athlete roster for the Paris Games includes an even split of 110 men and 110 women, plus five guides.
Out of the 35 venues used for the Olympic Games 18 will be repurposed for the Paralympics. The Stade de France, Roland-Garros Stadium, Chateau de Versailles and Eiffel Tower Stadium are just a few among many venues set for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
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