Ready for Rio: The ParalympicsGB athletes to watch and their inspirational stories
In ITV News' Ready for Rio series, Sally Lockwood has been meeting ParalympicsGB athletes and listening to their inspirational stories as they prepare to take part in the Rio games.
By ITV News reporter Sally Lockwood
There are few events as powerful as the Paralympics. Disabled athletes overcoming extraordinary challenges to compete at elite level, bringing something unique to sport.
What's clear when you meet the athletes in our series Ready for Rio is their skill and talent. Dedicated professionals at the top of their games, committed to a life of training and competition.
They were also a clear example of the wide and varied stories behind disabled sport, each finding their discipline at different ages under very different circumstances.
Yet one thing Dimitri Coutya, Megan Giglia, Rob Oliver and Gordon Reid all share is the same belief that sport has been an equalisier and a crucial part of their emotional as well as physical recovery or way of life. It's given them focus, drive and ultimately huge pride, as they proved adversity doesn't need to hinder any goal.
London 2012 was celebrated as a huge success. What perhaps made the country most proud was to have hosted the most successful Paralympics in history. Stadiums packed and a record 2.7 million tickets sold, as people queued to witness the most inspiring displays of sporting achievement.
There was endless discussion of the legacy of London's Paralympic Games; that it had changed the perception of disability, Paralympians were no longer seen as the underdog, and were celebrated equally alongside able-bodied athletes.
Four years on, and the hope that Brazil can maintain this success hasn't been promising. The world's perception of Rio's Paralympics is one that's been overlooked and underfunded with only 12% of the 2.5 million tickets sold by mid-August. Not to mention, the major funding issues and delays in travel grants for disabled athletes.
An encouraging late surge has seen ticket sales pass the one million mark this week. There's still a long way to go and Brazil knows the world is watching to see how it fares hosting the 15th modern Paralympic Games.
We will, of course, be there following the progress of our inspiring athletes and the 264-strong Paralympics GB team. Whatever the legacy of Rio, our athletes will return home as sporting heroes and role models.