Libby Kosmala is a true veteran - her participation in Beijing will be her 11th visit to the Paralymics.

With a collection of nine gold, the 66-year-old Australian shooter is looking to pick up her 10th in the Chinese capital. She will compete in four SH1-classified events: Women's air rifle standing, mixed air rifle prone, mixed free rifle prone and women's sport rifle 3x20.

Libby Kosmala accompanies the torch attached to her wheelchair through Adelaide for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with escort runner Luke Garnaut giving a helping hand. [Agencies]

Her participation spans nearly four decades, making her the longest-standing competitor of any Olympic or Paralympic Games. Over her sporting career, Kosmala has accumulated more than 100 silver and bronze medals in addition to her gold.

The athlete in a wheelchair was surprised six years ago when a series of tests unrelated to her paraplegia revealed her condition was due to a birth injury and not a developmental birth defect as previously believed. Whatever the diagnosis, she has never let her condition prevent her from realizing her ambitions.

It was by chance that Kosmala became involved in shooting. Initially interested in table tennis and archery, she first picked up a gun in her 20s when a friend invited her to visit the rifle range. She was a natural at her first attempt, firing two consecutive perfect 10s.

She soon began training and before long, won her first gold at the 1976 Toronto Paralympic Games. Her greatest sporting accomplishment came eight years later at the 1984 Stoke Mandeville Games, where she swept four gold in air rifle and broke four world records.

In Seoul four years later, she won another gold in air rifle alongside her husband Stan, who picked up a gold in lawn bowls.

When she's not at the shooting range, the mother of two keeps busy with her work in fundraising and public relations for the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephus Association.

She also serves as a board member for a number of community organizations.

A native of Klemzig in South Australia, Kosmala is also credited with paving the way for the parking concessions she and her fellow disabled community receives. After getting a number of tickets for exceeding the city's 30-minute parking limit, she decided to fight a legal battle.

The court ruled in her favor, dismissing the charges. The case is regarded as a precursor to the government's issuing of parking permits for people with disabilities.

China Daily