16 Team GB athletes who could win gold at the Paralympic Games

The Olympics may be over, but the summer of sport hasn’t ended. Here are 16 of the best female athletes that will be representing Team GB at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. 

The 2020 Olympic Games were groundbreaking for Team GB. Not only did we win medal after medal (in fact, we took home a total of 65), but almost every single day there was a display of true sportsmanship, inspiration and resilience from our athletes. 

While the Olympics may be over, the sporting excitement doesn’t end. The Paralympics are set to start on 24 August to feed our appetites for athletics, swimming, cycling and more. But who will be attempting to bring back gold for Britain? Here are 16 female athletes to keep an eye on during the Games. 

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Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in athletics?

• Olivia Breen

  

  Competing in both sprint and long jump events, Breen already has a host of medals under her belt. She won gold in the long jump in her last international competition, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but most recently made headlines for standing against comments on her shorts being “too short”. 

• Hollie Arnold

  

  Arnold is the current Paralympic champion in javelin, having taken gold at the 2016 Games in Rio. Since then, she’s also won both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, setting her sights on winning in Tokyo. 

• Samantha Kinghorn

  

  The fastest ever British female wheelchair racer over 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m distances, all eyes will be on Kinghorn during the 2020 Games. “Tokyo has been our main aim since the day I started,” she previously told Sky News. “Everything was always leading up to Tokyo, where I would really shine and win major medals. I’m excited to see what will come.”

• Kare Adenegan

  

  Adenegan won a silver medal and two bronze medals in Rio, aged just 15. The wheelchair racer also set a new world record in the 2018 Müller Anniversary Games, with a time of 16.80 seconds in the T34 100m. The same year, she took home the Young Sports Personality of the Year award. 

• Hannah Cockcroft

  

  Winning five gold medals at two Paralympic Games and holding world records in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500-metre wheelchair races, Cockcroft is one of Team GB’s best-known athletes. 

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Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in swimming?

• Maisie Summers-Newton

  

  Summers-Newton is making her debut on the Paralympic stage in Tokyo – yet she’s already a world record holder, having set the 200m individual medley time twice in one year during her 2019 competitions. 

• Ellie Simmonds

  

  Simmonds rose to Paralympic fame after winning two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, aged just 13. She continued to take home first place at the London and Rio Games, and it appears she has no intention of stopping her winning streak in Tokyo. 

• Rebecca Redfern

  

  Having held British, European and world records in SB13 100m breaststroke, and taking gold at the 2019 World Championships, there’s British buzz around Redfern for Tokyo 2020. 

• Bethany Firth

  

  An all-rounder in the pool, Firth has won medals in breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and medley races. Taking three golds at Rio, we’re looking forward to seeing how Firth competes in Tokyo. 

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Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in cycling?

• Kadeena Cox

  

  Cox was one of the biggest British success stories from Rio, competing both in cycling and track and field events. She’ll be competing on the bike in the 500m track race, while also competing in athletics for Team GB. 

• Crystal Lane-Wright

  

  Taking home a silver in the the individual pursuit and bronze in the road race, Lane-Wright will be setting her sights on gold at Tokyo. 

• Sarah Storey

  

  Storey holds 14 Paralympic gold medals and is the most successful female British Paralympian of all time. Starting her sports career as a swimmer, she pivoted to cycling in 2005 and has since won nine cycling golds in three Paralympic Games in both track and road race events. 

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Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in rowing?

• Lauren Rowles

  

  In 2015, less than a year after taking up rowing, Rowles won silver in the trunk-arms mixed double sculls with her partner Laurence Whiteley. In Rio, they set world records in the heats and took gold – an achievement they hope to repeat at Tokyo 2020. 

Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in powerlifting?

• Zoe Newson

  

  Newson took home bronze at London and Rio, but most recently took home gold at the 2020 Manchester World Cup and the 2021 Dubai World Cup, lifting an impressive 88kg in the ~41kg category in her latest competition. 

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Who’s competing in the Tokyo Paralympics triathlon?

• Lauren Steadman

  

  Another household name thanks to her performance in the pool at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics. Steadman made the change to the paratriathlon for 2016, taking home a silver medal.  

• Claire Cashmore

  

  There’s high hopes for Cashmore at Tokyo after she beat GB teammate Steadman for the title in 2019. In fact, Cashmore also started her career as a swimmer, winning gold in the 4 x 100-metre medley relay in Rio. 

Images: Getty

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