"I think I became a swimmer rather than just someone with a disability swimming up and down:" paralympic athletes perceptions of self and identity development.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the role of swimming on Paralympic athletes' perceptions of self and identity development.

Method: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was taken. During semi-structured interviews, five Paralympic swimmers (aged 20-24 years) were asked questions about their swimming career, perceptions of self, integration, and impairment.