Over the years sportsmen and women have inspired all of us with their dedication and hard work and incredible will power to succeed and this is true of many disabled men and women who face difficult odds and who are a great inspiration to all of us.
Lee Pearson
Lee was born with Arthrogryposis multiplex congenital that restricts range of motion and may result in weakness of muscles. Against difficult odds he has been able to compete in three Paralympics and at every one of these he has gone home with a gold medal for dressage, freestyle dressage and team dressage. Dressage may seem like a sport that is not as demanding as others, but it is physically demanding and takes discipline and dedication.
Natalie du Toit
Natalie is an Olympic gold medal swimmer from South Africa and she is best known for her successes at the Paralympic Games of 2004 and the Commonwealth Games. In 2008 she competed in the Summer Olympics in Beijing and she is the third amputee in the world to qualify for the Olympics where she came 16th in the Marathon 10K swim. Natalie started swimming when she was 14 and it was in 2001 at the age of 17 after an accident on her scooter that she had to have her left leg amputated, but it did not take long for her to start walking and not long after that she was back to swimming. She has won many medals and awards over the years and unlike just the luck you need to win big when playing online blackjack, she also has a huge amount of talent and skill that has seen her come out on top.
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni is currently a Welsh politician and television presenter, but before this she was a well-known wheel-chair racer. Tanni was born with Spina bifida and not only is she an incredible athlete but she also graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Politics and Social Administration. Her career started in 1984 at the Junior National Games for Wales and in 1988 she took home a bronze medal in Seoul. Her last Paralympics was in 2004 in Athens and she won two golds competing in the wheelchair racing. Throughout her career she has won 11 gold, four silver and one bronze in the Olympics and six gold, five silver and two bronze at the World Championship. She retired in 2007 after she participated in the Paralympic World Cup.
Esther Vergeer
Esther is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player and over her career she has won 42 Grand Slams, 22 year-end championships and 7 Paralympic titles. She is undefeated in her singles matches and she is known as the most dominant competitor in professional sports. She retired in 2013 with many medals and titles behind her name as well as spending 668 weeks as the world’s number one. She has three gold medals from the Paralympics doubles and was part of the World Cup Team’s winning side 12 times. Other significant titles include winning doubles at the Australian, French and US open as well as Wimbledon and she has won at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, both singles and doubles.