Road to Paris: Time to cheer on Team USA’s AA+PI Paralympians!

If you’re going through sports withdrawals now that the Summer Olympics have concluded, have no fear! You don’t have to wait till winter 2026 to see elite athletes competing on a world stage. The Summer Paralympics kick off this week, with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, so go on and get your sports fix again.

I have had an absolute blast this past year speaking with AA+PI athletes, and am honored as they’ve taken time out of their busy training schedules, preparing for the biggest competitions of their careers, to speak with me. And now that the Summer Paralympics are here, it’s time to show them some love and cheer them on as they go for the gold.

From veteran athletes who are returning to the Games, to newcomers representing Team USA for the first time, here are some AA+PI athletes to watch for in the next few weeks. Some you’ll recognize from our coverage over the past year, while others might be new to you.

Abbas Karimi

Para swimmer Abbas Karimi will be returning to the Paralympics for the second time, having swam in the 2020 Tokyo Games for the Refugee Paralympic Team. This time around, Karimi will be representing Team USA, after becoming a U.S. citizen in April 2022.

Karimi qualified for the Games through the Paralympic Trials at the end of June.

A total of 33 athletes will be swimming for Team USA in Paris, including fellow AA+PI para swimmer Gia Pergolini.

You can check out the full Paralympic para swimming schedule here.

Chuck Aoki

Not only will wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki be playing in his fourth Paralympics, he’s also been named one of the team’s co-captains, along with Eric Newby. Aoki is one of six returning Paralympians on the team, and he’ll be making history in Paris as the first four-time U.S. Paralympian in the sport.

While Team USA qualified for the Paralympics as a country at the 2023 Parapan American Games in November 2023 in Chile, individual athletes were selected a few months later. The wheelchair rugby roster was announced in April, following a process that included a national training camp, according to the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama, where the camp was held.

Aoki is one of 12 wheelchair rugby athletes set to represent Team USA, along with his fellow AA+PI teammate Zion Redington.

You can check out the full Paralympic wheelchair rugby schedule here.

Bobby Body

Para powerlifter Bobby Body will be competing in his first Paralympic games. The 50-year-old army veteran has only been lifting competitively for a few years, but is already one of the top-ranked athletes in his weight class (up to 107 kilograms).

Body qualified for Paris by being ranked in the top eight in the world in his weight class. He is one of only two athletes who will represent Team USA in para powerlifting—the other being Ashley Dyce.

You can check out the full Paralympic para powerlifting schedule here.

Dana Mathewson

Wheelchair tennis player Dana Mathewson will be in Paris for her third Paralympic Games. The veteran athlete previously competed in the 2016 and 2020 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tokyo, respectively.

Mathewson qualified for the Paris Games in November 2023, at the Parapan American Games in Chile. As the top-ranked American female wheelchair tennis player, she brought home the gold and punched her ticket to the City of Lights with nine months to spare.

Joining Mathewson will be her teammate and fellow AA+PI Maylee Phelps.

You can check out the full Paralympic wheelchair tennis schedule here.

Here are some of the other AA+PI athletes who are representing Team USA at the Paralympics in Paris:

Para Judo
Maria Liana Mutia

Para Shooting
YanXiao Gong and Kevin Nguyen

Para Table Tennis
Ian Seidenfeld

Para Track and Field
Annie Carey, Hannah Dederick, Justin Phongsavanh, and Taylor Swanson

Para-Cycling
Hannah Chadwick

Paratriathlon
Emma Meyers

This list is in no way complete or definitive. You can check out the full roster of the more than 220 athletes representing Team USA in Paris here.