Kyle Maynard – Mixed Martial Arts

Kyle Maynard is an incredible wrestler who recently entered into Mixed Martial Arts fighting, but was a 50-0 high school varsity wrestler before that. An impressive record – and a career path that anyone would have to be crazy to pursue – but it’s even more astounding to learn that Maynard was born without arms or legs. Oh, and he also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics – the first quadruple amputee to do so. No big deal.

Anthony Robles – Wrestling

Born with one leg, Anthony Robles probably wasn’t expected to win the 2010-2011 NCAA individual wrestling championship in his weight class. Then, despite being the top seed in the country and a contender for the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team or the MMA, he left wrestling to become a motivational speaker. And motivate, he does!

Natalie Du Toit – Swimming

South African Natalie Du Toit had to have most of her left leg amputated when she was 17 after being hit by a car. Already a swimmer, she was back in the pool within months and went on to win multiple gold medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She also became the first disabled swimmer to qualify for and compete in the Olympic Games in 2008, placing 16th in the 10-kilometer, or “Marathon” swim.

Jim Abbott – Baseball

It’s a bit astonishing that a professional baseball player could play the game without a right hand, let alone become one of the greats. Jim Abbott managed to do it, and was extremely successful throughout his decade-long career. A pitcher, he would throw with his left hand and keep his glove under his arm, and then switch the glove onto his hand with incredible speed to field (fast enough to catch hits off of the pitches he just threw, if necessary!). He even managed a no-hitter in 1993, and won 87 games in his career.

Tom Dempsey – American Football

For 10 years, Tom Dempsey played NFL football as a placekicker for several different teams (the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers, and the Buffalo Bills). Which is pretty incredible, when you take into account he was a placekicker who could kick with no toes on his right foot. He would wear a special modified shoe with a flattened toe surface that experts eventually determined actually worked as a disadvantage when it came to kicking. Despite this, he is tied for the record of longest field goal in history with his 63-yard kick in 1970 to help the Saints beat the Detroit Lions.

Bethany Hamilton – Surfing

One of the more high-profile disabled athletes due to the 2011 movie “Soul Surfer,” Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark while surfing at age 13 and lost her arm. Despite this, she was back in the water within a month and went on to place first in her division in the NSSA National Championships two years later. She became a professional surfer and competes in able-bodied competitions around the world sponsored by Rip Curl.

Jason Lester – Running

Jason was 12 when he was hit by a car that ran a red light, leaving him with a paralyzed right arm. Despite this, he went back to playing sports after his recovery, including baseball and football throughout high school and college. Even more impressive, he became the first disabled athlete to complete the Ultraman Marathon – an incredible feat for absolutely anybody on the planet. For those unfamiliar, the Ultraman is a three-day competition in Hawaii that includes a 6.2-mile and 90-mile bike ride the first day, a 171.4-mile bike ride the second day, and a 52.4-mile double marathon the final day. I hate to repeat myself, but, again, no big deal, right?

Tatyana McFadden

Tatyana McFadden was born with spina bifida, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down for life. She spent her early years at an orphanage without a wheelchair, so she learned to walk on her hands – most likely contributing to the incredible strength she’d demonstrate later in her athletic career. McFadden has participated in four Paralympic Games and the 2013 World Championships in basketball and track, raking in 16 medals including nine golds. After winning the Boston, Chicago, London, and New York marathons in 2013, she became the first person ever, disabled or otherwise, to win the four major marathons in one year.

Jessica Long

Born with fibular hemimelia, Jessica Long had to have her legs amputated below the knee at the age of 18 months. She was fitted for prostheses and quickly became an incredibly talented swimmer. The youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic Team when she competed in Athens in 2004, she collected three gold medals. Since then, she has won 17 medals in all, 12 of which are gold, and has broken an incredible 18 world records. Long was named the U.S. Paralympic Sportswoman of the Year in 2012 after earning five gold, two silver, and one bronze medal in the Olympic Games in London.

Melissa Stockwell

Former U.S. Army First Lt. Melissa Stockwell lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad, Iraq, just three weeks after she arrived. After receiving a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for her service, Stockwell turned to swimming and became the first Iraq War veteran to compete in the Paralympics in 2008. Though she didn’t win any medals, she placed fourth, fifth, and sixth in her different competitions, and then went on to represent the U.S. in the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, which she won three times.