Who are Britain's most successful Paralympians of all time?

With Britain targetting more medals at the Paris Paralympics in 2024, we run down GB's most successful Paralympians of all time.

Ellen Manning
Updated ·4-min read
Great Britain's Sarah Storey celebrates winning gold in the Women's C4-5 Road Race. (Getty)
Great Britain's Sarah Storey celebrates winning gold in the Women's C4-5 Road Race. (Getty)

Great Britain's most successful Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey has stretched her record-breaking exploits in Paris as she claimed the 19th gold medal of her glittering career.

The 46-year-old cyclist and swimmer secured her 19th Paralympic gold by claiming victory in the women’s C4-5 road race on 6 September in the French capital.

She finished the 71 kilometre course in one hour, 54 minutes and 24 seconds, just ahead of French silver medallist Heidi Gaugain, while Colombian Paula Ossa took bronze.

The victory maintains Storey’s 100% Games record on the bike, which began at Beijing in 2008 and now spans 14 races, taking her overall Paralympic medal tally to 30, including 16 in the pool.

As GB attempts to better its 2020 medal count, here are the most successful athletes to have ever represented Britain at the Paralympics.

Sarah Storey, Swimming + Cycling (1992-Present)

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DISLEY, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Dame Sarah Storey poses with her 28 Paralympic medals on June 19, 2024 in Disley, England. Dame Sarah Storey is the most successful British Paralympic athlete of all time with 28 medals including 17 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze. At the age of 14 Sarah made her maiden Paralympic appearance competing as a swimmer in Barcelona, switching to cycling in 2005. At the age of 46 Paris will be her 9th Paralympic games. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Dame Sarah Storey with her 28 Paralympic medals, which now includes 18 gold, eight silver and three bronze – which she has now added another gold to. (Getty)

British cyclist and swimmer Dame Sarah Storey is the most successful (by gold medals) and most decorated (by total medals) British Paralympian of all time as well as one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes of all time.

She now has a total of 30 paralympic medals, including 19 gold, eight silver and three bronze having competed in nine Paralympics.

Storey is also the only person to have won five gold medals in the Paralympics before turning 19.

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Manchester's Mike Kenny in Aylesbury today proudly showing his collection of swimming medals won in the Paralympics in Seoul. He won an astonishing five gold and one silver helping the British team to third place in the medals table.
Mike Kenny showing his collection of swimming medals won in the Paralympics in Seoul, which helped Britain to third place in the medals table.

Retired British swimmer Mike Kenny is the second most successful British Paralympian of all time, winning 16 gold medals and two silvers over four Paralympic Games.

He twice retained his gold medals in three swimming events, breaking numerous world records in the process.

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Britain's Lee Pearson competes on his horse Gentleman during the Dressage Individual - Grade 1b final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games in Greenwich Park in London, on September 1, 2012. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/GettyImages)
Lee Pearson competes on his horse Gentleman during the Dressage Individual - Grade 1b final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. (Getty)

Known as the 'Godfather' of para-dressage, Sir David Lee Pearson CBE is a 14-times Paralympic Games gold medallist, represented Britain in the Paralympics in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo.

Over the course of his career he has won 30 gold medals at European, World and Paralympic level - but his Paralympic totals are 14 gold medals, two silver and one bronze.

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File photo dated 27-09-2004 of Great Britain's Tanni Grey Thompson shows her emotions after winning Gold. Arguably Britain's most famous Paralympian. Baroness Grey-Thompson, who has spina bifida, was a wheelchair racer and competed in five Games between 1988 and 2004.rguably Britain's most famous Paralympian. Baroness Grey-Thompson, who has spina bifida, was a wheelchair racer and competed in five Games between 1988 and 2004. Issue date: Wednesday August 21, 2024.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who has spina bifida, was a wheelchair racer and competed in five Paralympic Games between 1988 and 2004.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is one of Britain's greatest Paralympic athletes, amassing an impressive medal haul over 16 years.

She competed in five Paralympic games, winning a total of 16 medals, including 11 gold, four silver and one bronze.

She also held over 30 world records and won the London Marathon six times between 1992 and 2002.

Grey-Thompson announced her pending retirement in February 2007, with her last appearance for Great Britain at May's Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, and is now a member of the House of Lords.

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Paralympics - Swimming - David Roberts Feature
Roberts won 11 Paralympic gold medals, as well as four silver and one bronze. (Getty)

Welsh swimmer David Roberts CBE is one of Britain's most successful male Paralympians, winning 11 gold medals, as well as four silver and one bronze.

His achievements put him in 34th place on the all time list of Paralympic Gold Medallists.

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Britain's Isabel Newstead waves to the crowd with her gold medal after the 10m Air Pistol SH1 final at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games in the Olympic Shooting Center on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2004. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Newstead with her gold medal after the 10m Air Pistol SH1 final at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. (AP)

Isabel Newstead MBE competed at seven consecutive Paralympic Games from 1980 to 2004, winning 10 gold, four silver and four bronze medals in three different sports.

During her Paralympic career she competing in a range of sports, making her debut in Arnhem in 1980 winning three golds in swimming, then going on to compete in swimming, shooting and athletics.

In 2001 she was awarded an MBE in recognition of her 17 Paralympic medals and made her final Paralympic appearance at the 2004 Games in Athens, where she set a new world record with a gold medal in the women’s air pistol.

She died in 2007 aged 51 after being diagnosed with cancer the previous year and was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

The remaining top 10 most successful British Paralympians are:-

7) Carol Bryant (athletics, table tennis, swimming, wheelchair fencing), 17 medals - 10 gold, two silver, five bronze

8) Chris Holmes (swimming), 15 medals - nine gold, five silver, one bronze

9) Robin Surgeoner (swimming), nine gold medals

10) Robert Matthews (athletics), 13 medals - eight gold, four silver, one bronze

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