Meet the stars of Australia's Paralympic team

Ahead of the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo – the biggest in history with 4,400 athletes representing 176 countries – get the full rundown on everything you need to know in our ultimate guide.

WHEN DO THE PARALYMPICS START?

The 16th edition of the Paralympic Games start on August 24 (tomorrow) and end on September 5 with a total of 13 days of sporting action.

WHEN IS THE OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONY?

The Opening Ceremony will be on Tuesday August 24 at 9pm (AEST) and the Closing Ceremony will take place on Sunday September 5 at 9pm (AEST).

WHAT EVENTS ARE AT THE PARALYMPICS?

A total of 4,400 athletes representing 176 countries will take part in the Tokyo Paralympics with 540 medal events across 22 sports.

These are the 22 Paralympic Games events set for Tokyo:

• Archery (27 August – 4 September)
• Athletics (27 August – 5 September)
• Badminton (1 September – 5 September)
• Boccia (28 August – 4 September)
• Canoe Sprint (2 September – 4 September)
• Cycling Road (31 August – 3 September)
• Cycling Track (25 August – 28 August)
• Equestrian (26 August – 30 August)
• Football 5-a-side (29 August – 4 September)
• Goalball (25 August – 3 September)
• Judo (27 August – 29 August)
• Powerlifting (26 August – 30 August)
• Rowing (27 August – 29 August)
• Shooting (30 August – 5 September)
• Sitting Volleyball (27 August – 5 September)
• Swimming (25 August – 3 September)
• Table Tennis (25 August – 3 September)
• Taekwondo (2 September – 4 September)
• Triathlon (28 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Basketball (25 August – 5 September)
• Wheelchair Fencing (25 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Rugby (25 August – 29 August)
• Wheelchair Tennis (27 August – 4 September)

AUSTRALIA PARALYMPICS TEAM

Australia is set to have their largest ever overseas Paralympics team at the Tokyo Games, with 179 athletes competing across 18 sports, led by their first female Chef de Mission appointed by Paralympics Australia, Kate McLoughlin.

The team has 101 males and 78 females with the youngest member just 15 and the oldest 60. Eighty-four athletes are making their Paralympic Games debut. There are also three Indigenous Australian athletes in the team in Para-cyclist Amanda Reid, discus thrower Samantha Schmidt and swimmer Ruby Storm.

Australia has a proud history at the Paralympic Games, having been part of the event since its first edition in 1960.

At the last Paralympics in 2016 Australia finished fifth on the medal tally with 22 gold medals and this year they are expected to surpass that mark.

Australia's Paralympic team has two co-captains in wheelchair rugby player and two-time gold medallist Ryley Batt and Para-table tennis star and six-time Paralympian Danni Di Toro.

READ MORE: Vaccines mandatory for entire Australian Tokyo 2021 Paralympics team

WHAT IS THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS MASCOT?

Someity (pronounced soh-may-tee) is the Tokyo Paralympic Games mascot. The origin of the name is from a cherry blossom called "Someiyoshino", as well as the phrase 'so mighty'.

NEW PARALYMPICS SPORTS

The Tokyo Paralympics will see two new disciplines make their debut in Para-taekwondo and Para-badminton.

AUSSIE PARALYMPICS ATHLETES TO WATCH

Tristan Knowles – Wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair basketball star Tristan Knowles is taking part in his fifth Paralympic Games, and is eyeing top spot on the podium in Tokyo to add to his gold from 2008, and silver in 2004 and 2012.

"If anything the joy and privilege of being able to pull on a green and gold singlet gets greater and greater," Knowles told Paralympics Australia.

"To be here for a fifth time and to see the condition of all the guys, I feel really upbeat and we've got really high expectations of ourselves, particularly after the way we finished in Rio. We're excited to get started.

"We're the fastest and fittest our group of 12 has ever been. It says to me that the guys are hungry because you only get into that sort of condition by doing a whole lot of work when no one's watching. We're pumped."

Tiffany Thomas Kane – Para-swimming

In Tokyo Australian gold medallist Tiffany Thomas Kane is out to defend her 100 metres breaststroke SB6 title.

"It feels good to be here in the village," Thomas Kane told Paralympics Australia. "It's been a long five years, a really long wait. It's exciting seeing all our Team here and also seeing the athletes from other countries.

"It brings back a lot of memories from Rio – the village life, the athletes from all over the world, just working out where everything is, how to get around here. It's just a really good time for all of us."

Milly Tapper – Para-table tennis

Milly Tapper is a rare Olympics and Paralympics crossover athlete, having appeared in each Games twice, and making history as the first Australian to do so in Rio in 2016. Tapper is part of the 11-strong Aussie Para-table tennis team, which also includes bear attack survivor, new Australian citizen and gold medal contender Ma Lin, who had his arm eaten by a brown bear at a zoo when he was just five years old.

Tapper, 31, is aiming to improve on her fourth-place finishes is a standout at the last two Paralympics, and having been in Tokyo since July 17, she is raring to go.

"I'm going to take it one match at a time. I think regardless of my results I'm just excited I get to be here," she she told Paralympics Australia.

"My big goal has always been to perform at the Paralympics.

"I was pretty fortunate to qualify for the Olympics. But realistically I was able to use that to get a feeling for the balls and see how I was playing.

"Now I'm really excited that the rest of my Paralympic Team is here in Japan with me and I'm excited to get out there and play."

WILL THERE BE FANS AT THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS?

All fans will be barred from the Paralympics in Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic, just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics.

There were a few exceptions made during the Olympics with some fans allowed in outlying areas away from Tokyo. This time, all fans will be barred except the possibility of some children attending a few unspecified events.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has said she is pressing ahead to allow school children to attend the Paralympics, as long a parents and schools are supportive. News reports say the number of students involved is between 130,000 and 140,000.

The Tokyo organising committee and the International Paralympic Committee also back the plan for student fans. They argue it's important to have students view athletes with disabilities, which could change attitudes in a relatively conservative society like Japan.

"This generation is the one that will sustain our society in the future, and so we are absolutely passionate about providing this opportunity," Tokyo organising committee spokesman Masa Takaya said.

Organisers have asked the public not to come out to view road events.

The Paralympics come as new infections have accelerated in Tokyo, which may expose an athlete population that is more vulnerable to COVID-19.

New infections in Tokyo tripled during the 17 days of the Olympics, although medical experts said the surge was not directly linked the Tokyo Games. Rather, experts suggested an indirect effect as the public was distracted and lulled into a false sense of security that staging the Games offered.

With the situation growing worse, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas will be extended until September 12. The state of emergency has been in force since July 12 and was to end later this month

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