News For most para-athletes, competing in one Paralympic Games is a special achievement Competing in two, and winning a gold medal, is the stuff of dreams Representating your nation in three editions of the Games, in three different sports – now that’s something really special And this is exactly what Josie Pearson is aiming to do at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games  The 29-year-old was the first woman to represent Great Britain in wheelchair rugby – technically a mixed gender competition albeit dominated by men – competing at the Beijing 2008 Games She then switched to athletics, contesting the T52 100m and 800m at the 2011 world championships, before switching to throwing events (discus and club) At London 2012, Pearson won gold in the F51/52/53 discus, breaking the F51 world record three times  A former show jumper who was left paralysed after a car accident in 2003, Pearson has now set her sights on qualifying for Great Britain’s hand cycling team for Rio, having been invited to be part of British Cycling’s Paralympic Podium Programme If she makes the squad, she would become the first female athlete to compete in three consecutive Paralympic Games in three different sports  “I’m more than ready to face the challenges that lie ahead in my bid to get to Rio 2016,” said Pearson when making the decision to focus on hand cycling “It’s going to be tough, but at the end of it there’s the potential I could be on that podium again and potentially bringing back more bling for GB ” Despite training hard, Pearson still finds time to post regular progress updates via Twitter: “I'm aiming for the time trial on my handbike Got a hell of a lot of work to do though!” she tweeted last week  To watch Pearson in Rio next year, don't miss out on the chance to buy tickets, which went on sale on 7 September for residents of Brazil Overseas fans will be able to buy tickets from approved resellers and Rio 2016 will publish the list by the end of September   Pearson is not the only athlete to have competed in different sports in different Games Check out some other multi-talented medallists:  Sarah StoreyThe British Paralympian won six gold medals in cycling at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games Before this, she won five golds, eight silvers and three bronzes in swimming at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004  Clara Hughes The Canadian won two bronze cycling medals at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and went on to win four medals in 5000m speed skating over three consecutive Winter Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010, totaling the highest number of medals for one Olympian across both Summer and Winter Games   Franz Nietlispach With an career spanning more than three decades, the Swiss competed in every edition of the Paralympic Games between 1976 and 2008 Nietlispach competed in table tennis during two Games although his main focus over the years has been athletics He went on to compete in Beijing 2008 in hand cycling   Jaqueline Mourão  The Brazilian achieved the unusual feat of qualifying for two sports during one Olympic Games, when she qualified in both cross-country skiing and biathlon – a multi-disciplinary sport combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting – at Sochi 2014 Prior to that, Moura represented Brazil in mountain bike at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008   Lauryn Williams The American won silver in the 100m at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, then another gold in the 4x100m relay at London 2012, before swapping the track for ice to take silver in bobsleigh at last year’s Olympic Winter Games in Sochi   Oksana Masters Born in Ukraine with a number of disabilities as a result of radiation exposure, Oksana Masters was adopted by an American and has represented the USA in both Summer and Winter Paralympic Games At London 2012, Masters won rowing bronze in mixed double sculls, swapping oars for poles two years later at Sochi 2014, winning silver for sitting 12km cross country skiing after training for just two seasons