Meet the stars of Australia's Paralympic team

Ahead of the 2021 Paralympic Games successful Tokyo - the biggest successful past with 4,400 athletes representing 176 countries - get the afloat rundown connected everything you request to cognize successful our eventual guide.

WHEN DO THE PARALYMPICS START?

The 16th variation of the Paralympic Games commencement connected August 24 (tomorrow) and extremity connected September 5 with a full of 13 days of sporting action.

WHEN IS THE OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONY?

The Opening Ceremony volition beryllium connected Tuesday August 24 astatine 9pm (AEST) and the Closing Ceremony volition instrumentality spot connected Sunday September 5 astatine 9pm (AEST).

The podium, music, costume and medal tray that volition beryllium utilized during the triumph ceremonies astatine the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Getty)

WHAT EVENTS ARE AT THE PARALYMPICS?

A full of 4,400 athletes representing 176 countries volition instrumentality portion successful the Tokyo Paralympics with 540 medal events crossed 22 sports.

These are the 22 Paralympic Games events acceptable for Tokyo:

• Archery (27 August – 4 September)
• Athletics (27 August – 5 September)
• Badminton (1 September – 5 September)
• Boccia (28 August – 4 September)
• Canoe Sprint (2 September – 4 September)
• Cycling Road (31 August – 3 September)
• Cycling Track (25 August – 28 August)
• Equestrian (26 August – 30 August)
• Football 5-a-side (29 August – 4 September)
• Goalball (25 August – 3 September)
• Judo (27 August – 29 August)
• Powerlifting (26 August – 30 August)
• Rowing (27 August – 29 August)
• Shooting (30 August – 5 September)
• Sitting Volleyball (27 August – 5 September)
• Swimming (25 August – 3 September)
• Table Tennis (25 August – 3 September)
• Taekwondo (2 September – 4 September)
• Triathlon (28 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Basketball (25 August – 5 September)
• Wheelchair Fencing (25 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Rugby (25 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Tennis (27 August – 4 September)

AUSTRALIA PARALYMPICS TEAM

Australia is acceptable to person their largest ever overseas Paralympics squad astatine the Tokyo Games, with 179 athletes competing crossed 18 sports, led by their archetypal pistillate Chef de Mission appointed by Paralympics Australia, Kate McLoughlin.

The squad has 101 males and 78 females with the youngest subordinate conscionable 15 and the oldest 60. Eighty-four athletes are making their Paralympic Games debut. There are besides 3 Indigenous Australian athletes successful the squad successful Para-cyclist Amanda Reid, discus thrower Samantha Schmidt and swimmer Ruby Storm.

Australia has a arrogant past astatine the Paralympic Games, having been portion of the lawsuit since its archetypal variation successful 1960.

At the past Paralympics successful 2016 Australia finished 5th connected the medal tally with 22 golden medals and this twelvemonth they are expected to surpass that mark.

Australia's Paralympic squad has 2 co-captains successful wheelchair rugby subordinate and two-time golden medallist Ryley Batt and Para-table tennis prima and six-time Paralympian Danni Di Toro.

READ MORE: Vaccines mandatory for full Australian Tokyo 2021 Paralympics team

A subordinate of Team Australia swims during a signifier league up of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Getty)

WHAT IS THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS MASCOT?

Someity (pronounced soh-may-tee) is the Tokyo Paralympic Games mascot. The root of the sanction is from a cherry blossom called "Someiyoshino", arsenic good arsenic the operation 'so mighty'.

NEW PARALYMPICS SPORTS

The Tokyo Paralympics volition spot 2 caller disciplines marque their debut successful Para-taekwondo and Para-badminton.

AUSSIE PARALYMPICS ATHLETES TO WATCH

Tristan Knowles - Wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair hoops prima Tristan Knowles is taking portion successful his 5th Paralympic Games, and is eyeing apical spot connected the podium successful Tokyo to adhd to his golden from 2008, and metallic successful 2004 and 2012.

"If thing the joyousness and privilege of being capable to propulsion connected a greenish and golden singlet gets greater and greater," Knowles told Paralympics Australia.

"To beryllium present for a 5th clip and to spot the information of each the guys, I consciousness truly upbeat and we've got truly precocious expectations of ourselves, peculiarly aft the mode we finished successful Rio. We're excited to get started.

"We're the fastest and fittest our radical of 12 has ever been. It says to maine that the guys are bare due to the fact that you lone get into that benignant of information by doing a full batch of enactment erstwhile nary one's watching. We're pumped."

Tiffany Thomas Kane - Para-swimming

In Tokyo Australian golden medallist Tiffany Thomas Kane is retired to support her 100 metres breaststroke SB6 title.

"It feels bully to beryllium present successful the village," Thomas Kane told Paralympics Australia. "It's been a agelong 5 years, a truly agelong wait. It's breathtaking seeing each our Team present and besides seeing the athletes from different countries.

"It brings backmost a batch of memories from Rio - the colony life, the athletes from each implicit the world, conscionable moving retired wherever everything is, however to get astir here. It's conscionable a truly bully clip for each of us."

Tiffany Thomas Kane (Getty)

Milly Tapper - Para-table tennis

Milly Tapper is simply a uncommon Olympics and Paralympics crossover athlete, having appeared successful each Games twice, and making past arsenic the archetypal Australian to bash truthful successful Rio successful 2016. Tapper is portion of the 11-strong Aussie Para-table tennis team, which besides includes carnivore onslaught survivor, caller Australian national and golden medal contender Ma Lin, who had his limb eaten by a brownish carnivore astatine a zoo erstwhile helium was conscionable 5 years old.

Tapper, 31, is aiming to amended connected her fourth-place finishes is simply a standout astatine the past 2 Paralympics, and having been successful Tokyo since July 17, she is raring to go.

"I'm going to instrumentality it 1 lucifer astatine a time. I deliberation careless of my results I'm conscionable excited I get to beryllium here," she she told Paralympics Australia.

"My large extremity has ever been to execute astatine the Paralympics.

"I was beauteous fortunate to suffice for the Olympics. But realistically I was capable to usage that to get a feeling for the balls and spot however I was playing.

"Now I'm truly excited that the remainder of my Paralympic Team is present successful Japan with maine and I'm excited to get retired determination and play."

Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Village (Getty)

WILL THERE BE FANS AT THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS?

All fans volition beryllium barred from the Paralympics successful Japan due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic, conscionable arsenic they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics.

There were a fewer exceptions made during the Olympics with immoderate fans allowed successful outlying areas distant from Tokyo. This time, each fans volition beryllium barred but the anticipation of immoderate children attending a fewer unspecified events.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has said she is pressing up to let schoolhouse children to be the Paralympics, arsenic agelong a parents and schools are supportive. News reports accidental the fig of students progressive is betwixt 130,000 and 140,000.

The Tokyo organising committee and the International Paralympic Committee besides backmost the program for pupil fans. They reason it's important to person students presumption athletes with disabilities, which could alteration attitudes successful a comparatively blimpish nine similar Japan.

"This procreation is the 1 that volition prolong our nine successful the future, and truthful we are perfectly passionate astir providing this opportunity," Tokyo organising committee spokesperson Masa Takaya said.

Organisers person asked the nationalist not to travel retired to presumption roadworthy events.

The Paralympics travel arsenic caller infections person accelerated successful Tokyo, which whitethorn exposure an jock colonisation that is much susceptible to COVID-19.

New infections successful Tokyo tripled during the 17 days of the Olympics, though aesculapian experts said the surge was not straight linked the Tokyo Games. Rather, experts suggested an indirect effect arsenic the nationalist was distracted and lulled into a mendacious consciousness of information that staging the Games offered.

With the concern increasing worse, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said a authorities of exigency successful Tokyo and different areas volition beryllium extended until September 12. The authorities of exigency has been successful unit since July 12 and was to extremity aboriginal this month

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