Which athlete became the first person to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Neroli Fairhall became the first person to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

New Zealand archer Neroli Fairhall competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games after qualifying for the archery event. She used a wheelchair after a riding accident caused paraplegia, and her Olympic appearance made her the first paraplegic athlete to compete at an Olympic Games.

Fairhall had already established herself in para sport, winning the women’s FITA round at the 1980 Arnhem Paralympics. At Los Angeles, she competed in archery and finished thirty-fifth in the women’s individual event. Her achievement connected the Olympic and Paralympic stages in a way that was exceptionally rare at the time.

Oscar Pistorius later became famous as a competitor in both Games in athletics, but he was not the first. Trischa Zorn was a highly decorated Paralympian but did not compete at the Olympic Games.