Towering achievements

If you loved the Paris Olympics, there’s more sensational sport in store this week as the French capital hosts the 2024 Paralympics.

- IAN MACEWAN, RICHARD MCCLURE

A record number of some 4,400 athletes from around the world will take part in 22 sports, with a total of 549 gold medals up for grabs over 11 days of competition.

Great Britain is taking around 220 athletes – including a host of reigning champions such as Hannah Cockroft, Tully Kearney and Dan Pembroke, plus veterans Dame Sarah Storey, David Weir and Jonnie Peacock, and new faces like swimming twins Scarlett and Eliza Humphrey. The team will be out to improve on an excellent showing in Tokyo when we finished second in the medal table behind China with 124 medals, including 41 golds.

We caught up with five-time Paralympics swimming goldmedallist Ellie Simmonds, 29, who’s part of the C4 presenting team, to hear more…

How excited are you about this year’s Games?

The Paralympics is what made me who I am today, and I think these Games are going to be huge, especially as they are the first since 2012 that have been in the European time zone.

How will you find working as a presenter rather than competing?

I’m sure I might feel a twinge of regret, especially seeing the likes of swimmer Maisie SummersNewton, who I raced against in my category. But I competed at four Games, and I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve.

Who else are you looking forward to seeing in action in the pool?

Alice Tai had great success in Rio, and is one to watch in the S8 category. And William Ellard is going to be a big name – watch him in the 200m freestyle.