Last month, we began our Trailblazers series by focusing on some of the most successful celebrities who also happen also to have a disability, chronic condition or learning difficulty.
In 2023, we’ll be continuing the series to highlight the successes of disabled individuals to prove that disability does not equal inability.
This time, meet the sport star trailblazers
Esther Vergeer

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Esther Vergeer is one of the most dominant professional disabled sports stars in history. Vergeer competed in wheelchair tennis professionally and won 48 Grand Slam competitions, 23 year-end titles, and 7 Paralympic medals. From 1999 until her retirement in 2013, she ranked as the top wheelchair tennis player in the world. From 2003 until her retirement, Esther had never lost. She has won 470 matches in a row.
Esther was born in the Dutch town of Woerden on July 18, 1981. In March 1990 she became paralysed from the waist down as a result of vascular myelopathy. Once her health stabilised she learned to play wheelchair tennis throughout her recuperation and by 1995 turned pro. Esther is currently known as the most famous disabled athlete in the world.
Muhammad Ali

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Who doesn’t know the renowned heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali? Ali, often known as “the Greatest,” was a famous and celebrated character of the twentieth century, as well as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
However, few people are aware that his initial battle was against dyslexia. He was a wonderful wordsmith, and many of his phrases are used as motivational quotes, yet he struggled to read due to dyslexia.
Trischa Zorn

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Zorn Trischa is the most decorated Paralympic athlete ever. Trischa, an American paralympic swimmer, has won 55 medals, including 41 gold, in paralympic competitions. Zorn is the most successful Paralympian of all time, and she owns numerous world records in her disability category.
She was born with aniridia, an uncommon disorder characterized by abnormal iris development. Due to her unique affliction, Trischa has been legally blind since birth. In 2012, she was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame. In addition, the Trischa L. Zorn Award is granted to impaired swimmers in the United States.
Ellie Simmonds

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Eleanor Simmonds, OBE is a former Paralympian swimmer from Britain who became the youngest member of the British Paralympian team in 2008 at just 13 years old. The same year, Simmonds won two gold medals for team GB. Ellie then went on to win a further three gold medals at the Olympic games during her career.
Ellie was diagnosed with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, as a baby.
Brian Bell

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Brian Bell is a wheelchair basketball player from the United States. The talented sportsman has represented his country twice at the Summer Olympic Games and helped his team achieve gold medals both times.
Bell lost one leg at the age of ten following a train accident.