Few athletes can claim the versatility of Oksana Masters—she has 18 total medals between the Winter and Summer Games, in para-Nordic skiing, para-cycling, and para-rowing.
Masters will be in Paris to defend her two gold medals from Tokyo, in both the road time trial H4-5 and road race H5 events, for hand cyclists who have limited movement in their lower body or missing limbs. Para-cycling will take place on August 29 through September 7.
9. A rising star in archery will make her Paralympic debut—alongside one of her mentors.
Sheetal Devi of India is also just 17 and has only been competing in archery since 2021. But in that time, she’s won silver at the World Archery Para Championships and gold in the individual compound and mixed team events at the Asian Para Games. At that competition, she shot six perfect 10s in a row; she has the top world ranking for para compound archers heading into Paris.
Devi was born with phocomelia, a condition that leads to underdeveloped limbs. Coaches at a youth event sponsored by the Indian Army recognized her athletic talent and at first attempted to help her participate with prosthetics. That didn’t work, but soon, they learned about armless American archer Matt Stutzman, who uses his legs to shoot and won silver at the London Paralympics in 2012. They helped Devi use a similar technique, and soon, she was firing her way into the highest levels of competition.
Stutzman, who has helped coach Devi personally, will also be competing in Paris. He’s 41, has had hip injuries, and has said this might be his final Paralympic appearance, though he hasn’t ruled out trying to qualify for Los Angeles in 2028.
10. Two Survivor contestants will return to the screen.
You might recognize Ryan Medrano and Noelle Lambert from Survivor 43 in the fall of 2022. While both were voted out—Medrano in ninth and Lambert in eighth—they both qualified for the Paralympic track & field team this summer.
Lambert, a former collegiate lacrosse player who lost her leg in a moped accident in 2016, competed in Tokyo in the 100 meters in the T63 classification, where she placed sixth. She decided to try long jumping earlier this year and quickly excelled, setting a new Americas record of 4.75 meters at the US Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in March, then shattering that mark again with a 5.06-meter jump at Trials in July to earn her spot in Paris.
Medrano, who has mild cerebral palsy, will compete at his first Games in the men’s 100-meter T38, a classification for athletes with impairments in movement coordination.
11. Hunter Woodhall gets his moment to go for gold.
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