Athletes\u2019 village reopens one week before Tokyo Paralympics begins USA win Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nigeria finish 74th
Tatyana McFadden (USA)
Wheelchair race legend McFadden already has 17 Paralympic medals to her name \u2014 now she\u2019s targeting more as she prepares for her fifth Summer Games.
McFadden, who was born in Russia and raised in an orphanage until she was adopted at the age of six, also competed in cross-country skiing at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
But her influence is not limited to the race track \u2014 she\u2019s also an equal-rights campaigner who has welcomed the US team\u2019s decision to award Paralympic medalists the same prize money as Olympians.
McFadden developed blood clots in 2017 that left her fearing her career was over, but she is back for another Games and aiming for more success.
\u201cI\u2019ve come such a long way and am finally getting the speed back and hitting speeds I\u2019ve never hit before,\u201d she told Forbes.
\u201cI\u2019ve changed so much \u2014 it\u2019s a new body, a new me, a new mindset. I\u2019ve definitely become stronger. I\u2019m going to really enjoy these Games.\u201d
Shingo Kunieda (JPN)
World number one Kunieda is one of wheelchair tennis\u2019s most decorated players, and a household name in his native Japan.
Diagnosed with a spinal cord tumour when he was nine, he has gone on to win three Paralympic golds and two bronzes, as well as bagging over 100 career titles \u2014 singles and doubles combined.
He became the first wheelchair tennis player to win consecutive men\u2019s Paralympic singles titles with victories in 2008 and 2012.
But an elbow injury hampered Kunieda\u2019s chances of winning gold at the 2016 Rio Games, and he is more determined than ever to reclaim the Paralympic title on home soil.
\u201cWinning a gold medal in Tokyo is the biggest goal,\u201d he told the International Tennis Federation\u2019s magazine.
\u201cEven though I have three medals from past Paralympics, gold in Tokyo would be so special and mean so much to me.\u201d
Husnah Kukundakwe (UGA)
Ugandan swimmer Kukundakwe could become one of the faces of the Tokyo Paralympics when she competes aged just 14.
Kukundakwe, who was born without her right forearm and also has an impairment to her left hand, is aiming to change attitudes in her home country, where she says people with disabilities are \u201cnot considered normal\u201d.
She says swimming has given her confidence, allowing her to ditch the baggy sweaters she used to wear to cover her arms and hands.
Now she\u2019s aiming to make a splash as the youngest athlete at the Games, after qualifying for the women\u2019s 100m breaststroke.
\u201cI don\u2019t really expect much from swimming at the Paralympic Games since it\u2019s my first time,\u201d she said.
\u201cJust getting the chance to be here and showing other younger people who want to participate in the Paralympics that they should just go for it and do what they believe in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Athletes\u2019 village reopens one week before Tokyo Paralympics begins USA win Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nigeria finish 74thTatyana McFadden (USA)Wheelchair race legend McFadden already has 17 Paralympic medals to her name \u2014 now she\u2019s targeting more as she prepares for her fifth Summer Games.McFadden, who was born in Russia and raised in an orphanage until she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n