Florida's Paralympians have overcome tragedy, challenges on road to Paris

• Athletes hope high interest in the Summer Olympics plus social media and advertising campaigns will bring even more fans to the Paralympics this year.

State of play: The Team USA roster lists seven athletes with Florida hometowns, and three others went to school in state.

They include

Abbas Karimi - Para Swimming

• The 27-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident fled his native Afghanistan at 16.
• Born without arms, Karimi is competing in his second Paralympics. He most recently won gold in the 4x50 medley relay at the 2022 World Championships.

Emma Meyers - Paratriathlon

• The 18-year-old Pensacola resident, originally from China, is the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team.
• She was born with a congenital limb deficiency, and her right leg was amputated below the knee.
• She's making her Paralympics debut. She has earned 10 podiums and three wins in 15 World Triathlon starts

Tracy Otto - Para Archery

• Otto, a Plant City native, discovered archery about three years ago after surviving a life-threatening domestic violence attack.
• Otto's ex-boyfriend broke into her home, stabbed her in the back and shot her in the eye with a pellet gun, paralyzing her from the chest down and blinding her in one eye.
• The University of Tampa alum, who is competing in her first Paralympics, won gold at this year's Para Pan American Championships.

On her determination: "I don't have it in me to give up," she told NBC News ahead of the games.

• "It's not who I am, it's not who I've ever been regardless of what I've been through throughout my life.

Her message to the world: "Regardless of your circumstance, it's about you playing the best hand that you can. And you can do anything that you want to do regardless of what happens."

Nicky Nieves - Sitting Volleyball

• The 2016 Paralympics gold medalist, who hails from Kissimmee, is the director and founder of Limitless People, which holds volleyball clinics in Florida and the Dominican Republic.
• Nieves, 34, who was born without a left hand, has said that volleyball "helped me gain self-confidence as a limb different individual."

Morgan Ray - Para Swimming

• The 22-year-old St. Augustine native and University of North Florida alumnus is competing in his first Paralympics.
• Ray was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. He began swimming at the age of six.
• Ray won a silver medal at the 2022 Para Swimming World Championships.

Jenson Van Emburgh - Para Table Tennis

• The 24-year-old Belleair Beach native is a two-time Paralympian who won bronze in Tokyo last time out.
• He was born with a spinal cord injury and discovered his passion for table tennis after trying several other sports. His dad was a pro tennis player.
• "My dad told me that life isn't going to be easy, and if you want to do something, you have to do it yourself and work hard," Van Emburgh told Florida Trend.

Gemma Wollenschlaeger - Para-Rowing

• The St. Augustine Beach native is competing in her first Paralympics.
• She won gold at the 2023 Para Rowing Regatta to Paris and silver in the 2023 World Rowing Championships. At Temple University, she earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference First-Team All-Conference lineup in 2023.

Lee Fredette - Wheelchair rugby

• The 41-year-old University of Miami graduate is a two-time Paralympian, winning silver medals in 2016 and 2020.

• Fredette broke his neck in a dirt bike accident in 2002 and found his way to South Florida working with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, according to UM.
• The New York native found wheelchair rugby after watching a documentary about the sport called "Murderball."
• "That saved my life," Fredette later told UM.

What's next: Fredette is hoping to win Team USA its first gold in the event since 2008.

Christie Raleigh Crossley - Para Swimming

• The 37-year-old – who went to Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale – was an All-American swimmer at Florida State University.
• A year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a drunk driver hit her, herniating the discs in her neck and lower back, seemingly ending her swim career, according to Team USA.
• Raleigh Crossley, who uses they/her pronouns, returned to swimming and won an NCAA title in New Jersey.
• In 2018, doctors discovered a tumor in her brain which paralyzed the left side of her body.
• Raleigh Crossley discovered para swimming in 2021 and broke her first American record the following year. They won gold in the 2023 World Championships.

Kyle Coon - Paratriathlon

• The 32-year-old University of Central Florida alumnus is competing in his second Paralympics. He has won five World Triathlon Para Series medals — three gold and two bronze.
• Coon lost his vision at age 7 from a rare form of eye cancer. In 2018, he became the first fully blind person to complete an IRONMAN triathlon in less than 11 hours, according to Team USA.

📺 How to watch: This is the first time that all 22 Paralympic sports will be broadcast live.

• Today's Opening Ceremony will air on USA Network at 2pm EST. (You can also stream it on Peacock or NBC.com.)
• An encore presentation will air on NBC on Friday at 9pm.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Raleigh Crossley is 37 years old, not 41.