The United States will send 225 athletes to the 2024 Paralympics, including dozens of competitors with limb loss. It’s arguably the most robust US Paralympic roster ever, combining world-record holders, prior Paralympic medalists, and emerging stars who are favorites to claim their first career medals. Here’s a breakdown of Team USA’s amputee competitors by age, state, sex, sport, medal status, and more.
Total Paralympians with limb loss / limb difference: 74
Here’s the breakdown of amputee athletes by sport: 21 track and field, 13 swimming, 11 paratriathlon, 10 sitting volleyball, 5 wheelchair basketball, 4 cycling, 3 archery, 2 parashooting, 2 paracanoe, 1 powerlifting, 1 wheelchair fencing, 1 wheelchair tennis.
Returning Paralympians: 58
Jessica Long is appearing in her sixth Games, Jeremy Campbell his fifth. Numerous amputees will be appearing in their fourth Paralympics in Paris, including Melissa Stockwell, Oksana Masters, Trevon Jenifer, and Matt Stutzman.
Rookie Paralympians: 16
This dynamic group includes gold-medal favorites such as Noelle Malkamaki and strong medal contenders such as Derek Loccident, Arelle Middleton, and Ali Truwit.
Previous Paralympic medalists: 38
Jessica Long leads this pack with 29 career medals, followed by Oksana Masters (17) Ellie Marks (5), and Jeremy Campbell (4). More than a dozen US Parlaympians with limb loss have three previous medals.
Teenage amputee Paralympians: 4
The four youngest amputees on Team USA for the Paris Paralympics are archer Jordan White (15), shotputter Arelle Middleton (16), paratriathlete Emma Meyers (18), and high jumper Ezra Frech (19).
Over-40 amputee Paralympians: 8
The geezer contingent includes Eric Bennett (50), Jamie Whitmore (48), Travis Gaertner (44), Melissa Stockwell (44), Josh Cinnamo (43), Mohamed Lahna (42), Matt Stuzman (41), and John Joss (41).
Amputee Paralympians by state
Twenty-eight of the 50 states have placed at least one amputee on Team USA. California has the largest delegation, with nine. Next up are Colorado and North Carolina (6 apiece); Oklahoma and Texas (4); Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota (3); Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Washington (2). Nearly two-thirds of the amputees on the roster hail from southern or western states.
Amputee Paralympians by sex
The 74 amputee athletes on Team USA include 40 women and 34 men. Half of the women are clustered in just two sports, swimming and sitting volleyball.
