Jason Smyth (28), a visually impaired sprinter from Derry, is officially the ‘fastest Paralympian on the planet.’ He won T13 gold at both 100m & 200m in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 Paralympics and won his fifth gold by retaining his T13 100m title at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janiero in September. His 100m personal best (10:22) is the second fastest ever by an Irishman and he is also one of only 10 Irish men to break 21 seconds for 200m.

Jason Smyth (29), a visually-impaired sprinter from Derry, is officially the "fastest Paralympian on the planet". He will be writing a monthly blog in the build-up to the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Mark Rohan, from Ballynahown, near Athlone, is a former Westmeath U21 footballer who was left paralysed, from the chest down, after a road accident in 2001. He will be writing a monthly blog in the build-up to the 2016 Paralympic Games. Here is his first post.