Winning It Regardless - The Resilience & Might Of These Paralympians Knows No Bounds
Sports are obviously full of really strong people, but these athletes are certainly the cream of the crop.
Let's get this straight - no sport is easy to play and master. It takes years of practice, grinding, and perfecting the art to be good at something.
There are people who are amazing athletes and who have everything going for them. Then, there are the people on this list: Amazing athletes who succeeded, even with all of the odds stacked against them.
Some of them were born with birth defects and some sustained life-altering injuries after serious accidents, but nothing made them stop. These are men and women who truly typify hard work and heart.
Sports are obviously full of really strong people, but these athletes are certainly the cream of the crop.
Matt Stutzman - Archer
IPC
Matt Stutzman was born without arms, but thanks to inconceivable skill and unimaginable resilience, he has made a name for himself in the world of archery. Not only does he hit the target, he is damn good at it.
In 2015, Stutzman set the world record for farthest accurate shot with a compound bow in Dallas, hitting his target from 310 yards - breaking his old world record by 80 yards.
In the 2016 Paralympic Games, he won a silver medal. It is ridiculously surreal what he has achieved with all the physical difficulties.
Trischa Zorn ¨C Swimmer
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The most decorated player in the history of Paralympic Games, Trischa Zorn has a ludicrous set of records most notably having won 55 medals (41 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze). That is simply astonishing.
But get this - it is crazy to think that Trischa is blind since birth, and still managed to set the stage on fire. To consistently perform year in and year out, it takes something really special - that is exactly what legendary swimmer has done.
Consider this too: For three Paralympic Games and part of a fourth, spread over some 12 years, Zorn-Hudson had never won a silver medal. She had only won gold ĄĒ 25 times.
She was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ragnhild Myklebust ¨C Skier
IPC
Ragnhild Myklebust holds the record for the most ever medals won at the Winter Paralympics. The Norwegian skier suffers from polio and won 22 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals between 1988 and 2002.
Myklebust has also won her Paralympic medals in different disciplines: short, middle and long distance cross-country races, relays, biathlons and ice sledge racing.
Jonas Jacobsson ¨C Shooter
IPC
There are many legendary shooters who have made their mark and created a legacy of their own. But if there is one who is inspiring and astonishingly good at what he does, it has to be Jonas Jacobsson.
The Swedish sport shooter is as legendary a player as they come. Having participated in nine consecutive Summer Paralympics from 1980 to 2012, Jonas won a total of seventeen gold, two silver, and nine bronze medals.
In addition to his Paralympic heroics, he also won a ludicrous 17 world and 22 European titles. It is not winning, it's called owning the sport, and that he did.
Esther Vergeer ¨C Wheelchair Tennis Player
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When the NetherlandsĄ¯ Esther Vergeer retired in 2013, she left wheelchair tennis with a winning streak of 470 consecutive matches, 668 straight weeks at world No. 1, eight Paralympic medals and 44 Grand Slam titles.
She was arguably the greatest individual to have ever played the game and one of the greatest Paralympians and ambassadors of the Paralympic Movement in history.
Going 10 years without a defeat on court to end her career, Vergeer served as an inspiration to many ever since she took up the game at age 12.
In the final decade of her career, Vergeer won 120 successive tournaments, beat 73 different opponents, won 95 matches 6-0, 6-0 and dropped just 18 sets of tennis.