Sport Week: Debutants to look out for at Rio 2016

A series of swimmers could make hugely successful Paralympic debuts in Rio in September. 23 Apr 2016
Imagen
A intellectually impaired swimmer finishes a race

Russia's Viacheslav Emeliantsev has set two world records at Glasgow 2015.

Ⓒ© Luc Percival Photography. All rights reserved.
By IPC

In 2016, 620 athletes from around 70 countries will descend on the Olympic Aquatics Stadium for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Amongst them will be a raft of athletes who will make their Paralympic debuts.

Paralympic sport is jam-packed with shocks and surprises and para-swimming is no different.

Here are just a selection of athletes looking to make a splash on the biggest stage possible from 7-18 September.

Viacheslav Emeliantsev, Russia, men’s S14

The 21-year-old Russian made an incredible World Championships debut in 2015, winning three world titles. That included the 100m backstroke, previously held by Dutch Paralympic champion Marc Evers.

The 2016 IPC Swimming European Open Championships will provide another opportunity for Emeliantsev to show his quickening pace, and one more chance before Rio to meet Evers.

Braeden Jason, Australia, men’s S13

The men’s S13 has been dominated for some time by one man. Belarus’ five-time Paralympic champion Ihar Boki has been topping the podium since winning his first titles at London 2012.

However, this year’s world rankings so far tell a different story.

Jason, 17, currently leads the way in the 400m freestyle, a Paralympic gold currently held by, you guessed it, Boki.

Tiffany Thomas Kane, Australia, women’s S6

Thomas Kane is another athlete to have had a breakthrough year in 2015. Swimming to gold with a new world record time in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships, the 14-year-old made everyone sit up and listen.

Into 2016, the teenager also broke the 50m breaststroke world record to secure her nomination to the team for Rio.

Although the event is not on the Paralympic programme, Thomas Kane clearly has her eyes firmly fixed on the podium.

Ariadna Edo Beltran, Spain, women’s S13

A swimmer hoping to follow in the footsteps of one of the most successful Spanish Paralympians of all time, Edo Beltran is standing on the shoulders of multiple Paralympic champion Teresa Perales.

At 17, the Spaniard is already a medallist at the world level having secured bronze in the 400m freestyle 2015. She is also the current world No.1 in the event.

Editor’s note: Each sport on the Rio 2016 Paralympic programme will have a dedicated week of featured content published on paralympic.org. Every week a new sport will be featured and the series will run until September’s Games, helping the public understand more about the 22 sports being contested in Rio.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs).

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.