Athlete |
Nation(s) |
Sport(s) |
Role(s) |
Era |
Notes |
Jim Abbott |
USA |
BBL |
Non-Medal |
1988 |
Abbott was born without a right hand. |
Edgar Adams |
USA |
SWM |
Olympics |
1904 |
Severely injured when, as a child, a shotgun blast accidentally hit him in the left leg, leaving him with difficulty walking due to that leg being 4-6 inches shorter than the right leg. |
Tony Ali-Ally |
GBR |
DIV |
Olympics |
1996—2004 |
Deaf. |
Max Baldwin |
AUS |
CMA |
Olympics |
1956 |
Lost use of his left leg to polio as a baby. |
Frank Bartolillo |
AUS |
FEN |
Olympics |
2004 |
Born profoundly deaf. |
Bobby Bridge |
GBR |
ATH |
Olympics |
1912 |
Left arm amputee. |
Harold Brooke |
AUS |
SAL |
Olympics |
1960 |
Had the use of only his left arm. |
Tamika Catchings |
USA |
BKB |
Olympics |
2004—2016 |
Hearing disability. |
Chris Colwill |
USA |
DIV |
Olympics |
2008—2012 |
Born with 60 percent hearing loss. |
Hal Connolly |
USA |
ATH |
Olympics |
1956—1968 |
His left arm was more than 11 centimetres shorter than his right arm and his left hand was two-thirds smaller than his right hand. |
Georges Conraux |
FRA |
FEN |
Olympics / Referee |
1924 |
Competed left-handed in fencing as his right arm was amputated at the elbow, possibly from a war injury. |
Nina Cutro-Kelly |
USA |
JUD |
Olympics |
2020 |
Cutro-Kelly is hearing imparied, and has 50% hearing loss in both ears. |
Diksha Dagar |
IND |
GLF |
Olympics |
2020 |
Deaf |
Jack Dearlove |
GBR |
ROW |
Olympics |
1948 |
Right leg amputee. |
Gus Erker |
USA |
ROW |
Olympics |
1904 |
Only one eye. |
George Eyser |
USA |
GAR |
Olympics |
1904 |
Left leg amputee. |
Ignazio Fabra |
ITA |
WRE |
Olympics |
1952—1964 |
Deaf since birth. |
Neroli Fairhall |
NZL |
ARC |
Olympics |
1984 |
Paraplegic, competed in wheelchair. |
Paola Fantato |
ITA |
ARC |
Olympics |
1996 |
Confined to a wheelchair following polio |
Jeff Float |
USA |
SWM |
Olympics |
1984 |
Deaf. |
Pedro Frías |
DOM |
BOX |
Olympics |
1988 |
Legally blind in one eye. |
Paul Gnaier |
GER
FRG |
FEN |
Olympics / Referee |
1960—1972 |
Right hand amputee. |
Donald Gollan |
GBR |
ROW |
Olympics |
1928 |
Deaf. |
Shirley Gordon |
CAN |
ATH |
Olympics |
1948 |
Born with a deformed left foot. |
Olivér Halassy |
HUN |
SWM/WPO |
Olympics / Non-starter |
1928—1936 |
Left leg amputee. |
Lis Hartel |
DEN |
EDR |
Olympics |
1952—1956 |
Paralyzed below her knees after struck by polio. |
Lou Heim |
USA |
ROW |
Olympics |
1904 |
Deaf. |
Piero Italiani |
ITA |
DIV |
Olympics |
1984—1988 |
Deaf since birth. |
Bill Jones |
CAN |
SHO |
Olympics |
1960 |
Deaf. |
Assunta Legnante |
ITA |
ATH |
Olympics |
2008 |
Visually impaired. |
Whitly Loper |
USA |
SHO |
Olympics |
2004 |
Born blind in her right eye. |
Luo Wenao |
CHN |
ATH |
Olympics |
1948 |
Deaf and mute. |
George Masin |
USA |
FEN |
Olympics |
1972—1976 |
Hearing impaired. |
Taylor McQuillin |
MEX |
SOF |
Olympics |
2020 |
Legally blind in her left eye since birth |
Zahra Nemati |
IRI |
ARC |
Olympics / Other |
2016 |
Paralyzed after a car accident in 2008, competed in wheelchair. |
Jakub Nosek |
CZE |
BOB |
Olympics |
2018—2022 |
Hearing impaired. |
Max Ordman |
RSA |
WRE |
Olympics |
1960 |
Deaf. |
Carlo Orlandi |
ITA |
BOX |
Olympics |
1928 |
Deaf. |
Terence Parkin |
RSA |
SWM |
Olympics |
2000—2004 |
Profoundly deaf. |
Natalia Partyka |
POL |
TTE |
Olympics |
2008—2020 |
Born without a right hand and forearm |
Hugo Passos |
POR |
WRE |
Olympics |
2004 |
Deaf. |
Brian Pickworth |
NZL |
FEN |
Olympics |
1960 |
Left arm amputee. |
Oscar Pistorius |
RSA |
ATH |
Olympics / Other |
2012 |
Double leg amputee. |
Hilaire Pratesi |
FRA |
BOX |
Non-starter |
1952 |
He was the victim of an car accident in August 1955, which left him paralyzed |
Ildikó Rejtő-Ujlaky-Sági |
HUN |
FEN |
Olympics |
1960—1976 |
Profoundly deaf. |
Marla Runyan |
USA |
ATH |
Olympics |
2000—2004 |
Legally blind. |
Michel Salesse |
FRA |
FEN |
Olympics |
1980—1984 |
Competed left-handed as right arm was severely affected from polio as a child. |
Mark Scott |
GBR |
ROW |
Olympics |
1948 |
Loss of sight in one eye and partial sight in the other following a mortar bomb explosion in World War II |
Michael Serth |
GER |
GTR |
Olympics |
2000 |
During a training session in 2014, Serth forgot a part of an element (a twist) and landed so unlucky that he needed a wheelchair ever since that accident. |
Vyacheslav Skomorokhov |
URS
UKR |
ATH |
Olympics |
1968 |
Deaf. |
David Smith |
USA |
VVO |
Olympics |
2012—2020 |
Born nearly deaf. |
Dean Smith |
AUS |
ATH |
Olympics |
1992 |
Deaf. |
Walker Smith |
USA |
ATH |
Olympics |
1920 |
Competed with an artificial right eye. |
Károly Takács |
HUN |
SHO |
Olympics |
1948—1956 |
Competed in 1936 right-handed. Lost his right hand to a grenade blast in World War ii, and then converted to shooting left-handed, at which he won his two gold medals. |
Natalie du Toit |
RSA |
OWS |
Olympics / Other |
2008 |
Left leg amputee. |
Sonia Vettenburg |
BEL |
SHO |
Olympics |
1992 |
Wheelchair user. |
François Walker |
FRA |
GAR |
Olympics |
1920 |
Received a military pension because of “paralysis in the arm and blurred vision after a gunshot wound received in 1914." |
Ray Watson |
USA |
ATH |
Olympics |
1920—1928 |
Competed without a right hand which he lost in a shooting accident at age 13. |
Oskar Wetzell |
FIN |
DIV |
Olympics |
1908—1912 |
Deaf |
Yeo Gek Huat |
SGP |
BKB |
Olympics |
1956 |
Deaf and mute. |