Tokyo Paralympics: athletes to watch – Jessica Long, Jonnie Peacock and Iran’s ‘Dream Team’

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games begin on August 24 with more than 4,000 athletes taking part in 539 medal events across 22 sports.

This year, there will be medals for taekwondo and badminton, both new events added to the Paralympic calendar in Tokyo, while Bhutan and Guyana are sending athletes for the first time.

There will also be a number of familiar faces to those who just watched the Olympics.

Melissa Tapper played in the women’s doubles and women’s team table tennis for Australia and is set to shine in Tokyo in the Paralympics, while Natalia Partyka played the women’s singles and team for Poland.

Tapper, who has won Commonwealth Games gold, put it succinctly in an Instagram post – “warm up done, big dance coming up”.

So who else should you be looking out for at the big dance? Here are some of the biggest names to keep an eye on in Tokyo.

Iran – men’s sitting volleyball

Literally one of the biggest names is Morteza Mehrzadselakjani but the Iranian is also the tallest Paralympian at 2.46 metres.

Mehrzadselakjani led the Iranian “Dream Team” to gold in Rio five years ago and they will look to defend their crown in Tokyo.

Brazil – men’s five-a-side football

Led by Jefinho, who is known as the “Paralympic Pele”, the boys from Brazil are dominant in the blind football event. They have won every time since the sport was introduced at Athens 2004 and Jefinho is looking for his fourth gold in Tokyo.

Omara Durand – athletics

The fastest woman on the track in the T12, Durand set a world record for the 100m in Rio five years ago on her way to three golds at those Games. She is back again in Tokyo and the Cuban is eyeing a sixth career gold, if not more.

Shingo Kunieda – wheelchair tennis

A legend in the wheelchair tennis world, the Japanese veteran already has two men’s singles golds from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 plus a doubles gold two.

He will be looking for space for another at his home Games but that might be hard given he has won a record 45 wheelchair grand slams.

Jessica Long – swimming

A 13-time Paralympic champion, Long has been doing this since she was just 12. Long will be looking to add to her 23 total medals in Tokyo this month.

Born in Russia, Long was adopted by a family in the US, with the double amputee’s journey back to the land of her birth to meet her biological parents documented by NBC. She is also the only member of this list with a Super Bowl ad.

Alice Tai – swimming

The Tokyo Aquatics Centre will see waves made and British swimmer Tai is one to watch. She set seven world records at one meet in 2019 and the Paralympic, World, Commonwealth and European Champion is expected to deliver again at these Paralympics.

Michael Roeger – marathon

The Australian has clocked world record times (pending ratification) in all four T46 marathons he has run, according to Guinness World Records, and he is tipped to show his stuff in Tokyo.

Roeger – who has T46 records at 1,500m and 5,000m – came home in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 52 seconds at the Aussie trials. Gold in Tokyo would be his first.

Jonnie Peacock – athletics

The veteran is back in action for Team GB in Tokyo after being added to the T64 100 metres and 4x100m universal relay line-ups. Peacock, who won golds in London and Rio, has been outspoken in the fight for equality for para athletes.

Tatyana McFadden – wheelchair racing

The American is arguably the greatest of all time and will be in Tokyo set on adding to her 17 medals from Paralympics past.

Lucy Ejike – weightlifting

This is the Nigerian’s sixth Paralympics and she is a three-time gold medallist. The 43-year-old will be looking to add to her medals at each of her previous Games but ideally not to the two silvers.

Zahra Nemati – Archery

The Iranian archer is back-to-back champ in the women’s individual recurve and she is looking for a third Paralympic gold in Tokyo. Nemati also competed at the Olympics in Rio.

Markus Rehm – long jump

The long jumper smashed his own T64 world record by 14cm in June and “The Blade Jumper”, as he is known, is gunning for gold in Tokyo after winning the event in Rio five years ago.

Leani Ratri Oktila – badminton

The 2019 women’s singles world champion is looking to take the first badminton gold back to Indonesia. The shuttler was named Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Para Badminton Player of the year in 2019 too.

David Smith – Boccia

The Briton sported a blue mohawk at Beijing 2008 on his way to gold and he won another in Rio five years ago. Smith also won the world championship in 2018 and is a favourite for the medals in Tokyo, while fans wait to see what he has worked on with his barber.

Carol Cooke – track cycling

Cooke is going into Tokyo on the back of her first gold in London and two more in Rio. That’s all the more impressive given the Canadian-born Australian made Games debut in 2012 and she is 60 at this year’s Paralympics. She will be looking to prove that age is nothing but a number in Tokyo.