TOKYO — One Paralympic swimmer ended up training in the chilly Arkansas River for a while after the coronavirus pandemic cut off her access to a pool.
Another borrowed a swim bench, set it up in her garage in Minnesota and simulated her strokes against the resistance of a pulley system. It was the closest she could come to propelling herself through water.
And in Cardiff, Wales, a shot-put champion improvised by stringing a cargo net between apple and pear trees so he could safely practice in the yard of his new home.
Months later, those three athletes — Sophia Herzog, Mallory Weggemann and Aled Sion Davies — have joined about 4,400 other competitors in Tokyo for the 16th Summer Paralympic Games, which open on Tuesday.