Meet the 7 most successful Paralympians ever: from US swimmer Trischa Zorn to Sarah Storey

The Paralympics are off to a start in Paris, and it's looking like it will be one of the biggest Paralympic Games in history with more than 4,000 para-athletes attending.

It's yet another opportunity to witness the incredible feats of the human body, with one competitor - Hunter Woodhall - telling viewers to "come and expect to see what the human body is capable of."

"We’re having conversations about somebody in the Paralympics potentially jumping farther than they did in the Olympics ," the U.S.A medalist teased, referring to German long jumper Markus Rehm. "It shows the progress of the Paralympics and how athletically talented we are and the results we can have."

But who are the most successful Paralympic athletes ever? From Trischa Zorn to Sarah Storey, here's all you need to know.

1 /7

Trischa Zorn

Between 1980 and 2004, Trischa Zorn won an exceptional 55 medals for swimming, across S12, SB12, and SM12 disability categories for Team U.S.A. Blind from birth, Trischa took home seven gold medals from her first Paralympics in Arnheim and continued on from there, winning a total of 41 gold medals over her career.

She may have more medals than any other Paralympian or Olympian, but these days Trischa works as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She said that she's "not very good at bragging" and feels "that my medals and my performance in the water speaks for itself."

2 /7

Heinz Frei

Swiss wheelchair athlete Heinz Frei has won an impressive 35 medals across the Winter and Summer Paralympics for cross country skiing, cycling and other athletics sports. At the age of 20, the athlete had a bad fall during a mountain run which left him paralysed.

Yet at 66, he shows no signs of stopping as he competed in the 2020 games. As well as working at the Paraplegic Foundation, Heinz has an impressive 15 gold medals.

3 /7

Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum

Between 1964 and 1992, Israeli athlete Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum competed in a huge array of sports - from athletics and swimming to table tennis and wheelchair basketball. She won an incredible 31 medals, including 15 gold medals.

4 /7

Jonas Jacobsson

Sport shooter Jonas Jacobsson took home 30 medals for Sweden between 1980 and 2020, 17 of which were gold medals. He shoots an air rifle, and has said of winning gold in 2020: "I felt a lot of pressure before this tournament because this was my last chance to build on my record of winning gold in every Paralympics since 1980."

He added: "If I hadn't won the gold today, I think I would have finished. But now I will take some [time] off and think about the future."

5 /7

Jessica Long

Russian-American swimmer Jessica Long has won 29 medals for team U.S.A, including 16 gold medals. She had fibular hemimelia, which meant her lower legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. After learning to walk with prostheses, she became active in a number of sports before finding her flow in swimming.

At just 12 years old, she became the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team during the 2004 Athens games, winning three gold medals. She has held various world records.

6 /7

Sarah Storey

By far Britain's most successful Paralympic athlete, Sarah Storey has 28 medals - including 17 gold medals. Sarah grew up without a functioning left hand after her arm became entangled in the umbilical cord in the womb, meaning it did not develop as normal.

Originally, she started out as a swimmer, debuting aged 14 at 1992's Barcelona's games where she won five medals - two golds. Despite being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, she continued to swim. But she moved over to cycling after a serious ear infection meant she couldn't swim for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, it turned out she was an excellent cyclist and she's broken a number of world records in the field, going on to compete against non disabled cyclists too.

7 /7

Ragnhild Myklebust

Norwegian athlete Ragnhild Myklebust has won an exceptional 27 medals in the Winter Paralympics, 22 of which were gold. Competing primarily as a skier, she has competed in short, middle and long-distance cross-country races, relays, the biathlon, and ice sledge racing.