North Yorkshire athlete making Paralympic debut today
Harrogate's Lottie McGuinness is competing in Paris in the powerlifting
A North Yorkshire woman is hoping to inspire the next generation of disabled athletes when she competes at the Paralympics today.
2\2 year old Lottie McGuinness from Harrogate has dwarfism and is in action in the para lifting later.
She tells us more about her sport: "We are laying on a bench and lifting weights above our body and the strongest on the day wins with the heaviest weight. It's a sport where there's no limits and we're lifting more than the average powerlifter competitor in the world in some competitions."
She says she wants to enjoy the experience of competing but also says it's really important to send a message to those watching at home: "I was inspired by someone who got me into sport and I'm getting messages from people saying I've inspired them...it's quite touching I think because that's where I started and that's like the next generation of athletes now that are going to be coming in. Now there's more media I think it really shines a light on the sport. I know there's people out there maybe like myself with dwarfism or any other condition, but it's knowing that you could be inspiring them is quite special."
Ahead of her debut she is encouraging as many people as possible to watch: "The whole team is incredible and I just really want to get it out there because it's such an incredible sport."