Sports Tokyo Paralympic Games The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are being held Aug. 24-Sept. 5, 2021. The Tokyo Paralympic Games Have The Most Athletes — And The Most Women — In History By Joe

Hernandez Published August 24, 2021 at 11:29 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Toru Hanai / Getty Images for International PYui Kamiji of Team Japan in action during a training session

ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Ariake Tennis Park on August 22, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

If growing your roster were a Paralympic sport, this year's games would win gold.

The new record comes even as several teams have had to drop out of the games this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Afghanistan's Paralympic team also had to cancel its trip to Tokyo amid

the ongoing upheaval in the country.

"To break the record for the highest number of athletes at Tokyo 2020 is testament to the tremendous work of all [National Paralympic Committees] and International Federations who have gone

above and beyond the call of duty during the most testing of times," said International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons in a statement.

Among those competing in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, 1,853 are women, another record. Previously, Rio 2016 had the most female athletes with 1,671.

"It is absolutely fantastic news that more women than ever before will compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and a lot of credit needs to go to NPCs and International Federations for

ensuring this continued growth in numbers," Parsons added.

While the number of women at this year's games marks a record, they still account for just 42% of all athletes who are competing.

"Although we are still someway short of gender parity, we are heading in the right direction with the number of women competing at the Paralympics almost doubling since the Sydney 2000

Paralympics."

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