Rio Paralympics 2016: Find out when our Midland heroes are looking to strike gold

Swimming sensation Ellie Simmonds, the region's most successful Paralympian, holds the greatest chance of achieving Paralympic gold. Aldridge-born Ellie already has four golds to her name, as well as a bronze and a silver.

This is on top of the 10 world championship golds she has.

The 21-year-old made her Olympic debut aged just 13 in 2008 at Beijing but made her name in London in 2012 when she smashed two world records, one by five seconds, on her way to capturing two golds. She has both an MBE and an OBE and a postbox painted gold in Aldridge in her honour.

Fellow Aldridge athlete Ryan Cockbill will be hoping to emulate Ellie's success and win a medal at this year's Paralympics.

The 26-year-old shooter got two top-25 finishes in his first Paralympic games back in 2012 when he came 21st in the R4 10m Air Rifle Standing mixed SH2 and 17th in the R5 10m Air Rifle Prone mixed SH2.

But his form has picked up since then and he will be hoping to challenge the medal places after taking six at the 2015 Stoke Mandeville Shooting World Cup. Among the six medals included a gold in the R4 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2.

He got into para-shooting during his hospital rehabilitation after suffering a compression fracture to his spine when he belly flopped into a child's paddling pool during a party to celebrate the end of the GCSE exam period when he was just 16.

Ellie Simmonds: Monday September 12. 200 metre Individual Medley, her first event.

Jordanne Whiley: Saturday September 10.Women's wheelchair tennis.

Ryan Cockbill: Saturday September 10. Begins his 10m Air Rifle Standing campaign.

Richard Davies: Saturday September 10. Competes against Ryan in the same event.

Helen Scott: Friday September 9. She goes off in the women's B kilo as the pilot.

Ian Marsden: Thursday September 15. Day of canoeing.

Claire Cashmore: Sunday September 11. 200 metre Individual Medley SM9.

Kyle Marsh: Thursday September 8. Competes on the first day of the games with the basketball team.

Halesowen's Jordanne Whiley will be hoping to add Paralympic glory to her ever-growing trophy cabinet.

The 24-year-old is Britain's youngest ever national women's singles champion in wheelchair tennis and a nine time grand slam champion - including the US Open singles and a hat-trick of Wimbledon doubles.

An MBE holder along with Ellie, Jordanne has a poor Olympic singles record, losing both her opening matches in 2008 and 2012, but has a bronze doubles gold from London.

Another Halesowen athlete looking to add to her impressive haul of titles is cyclist Helen Scott. The 26-year-old is a two-time Commonwealth champion and has 10 World Championship medals to her name, including two golds and six silvers.

She joined the GB Paralympic team in 2010 where she was given the role of pilot to three-time Paralympic gold medalist Aileen McGlynn. She made her Paralympic debut in London where she won a silver in the Tandem B kilo and a bronze in the Tandem B pursuit

Six-time Paralympic medal winner Claire Cashmore will be looking to finally secure a gold medal as she enters her fourth Paralympics.

The 28-year-old from Kidderminster has three bronze and two silver medals to her name, but has yet to break her golden duck.

Her best chance will come in the Women's 100 metre breaststroke SB8, the event in which she won a bronze in 2008 and a silver in 2012. She will also go off in the women's 4 × 100m medley relay 34 points where team GB secured a silver four years ago.

Up the A449 from Kidderminster and along the A458 brings you to Stourbridge, the home of medal hopeful Richard Davies.

The 45-year-old shooter is a team mate of Ryan Cockbill and the pair will both be competing in the R4 10m Air Rifle Standing mixed. Back in London, Richard bettered Ryan when he finished in 16th, five places in front of his teammate.

Richard is a four-time British champion in the R4 standing and back in 2014 achieved the highest qualifying score in the IPC Shooting World Championships in Suhl, Germany. For 14 years Richard played wheelchair rugby but switched his focus back in 2008 when he discovered he had a talent for shooting after the Disability Target Shooting Great Britain National Championships.

Wolverhampton's Kyle Marsh is part of the Team GB Paralympic basketball team which will be looking to replicate European success on the grandest stage of them all.

Kyle, who now splits his time between Wolverhampton and Spain after signing for BSR Amiab Albacete, has been playing wheelchair basketball since the early 2000's.

He represented the GB U22 Team at the 2006, 2008, and 2010 U22 European Championships before then graduating to the senior team, where the 26-year-old won gold at the same championships in both 2013 and 2015.

The only Staffordshire athlete to make this list, although there are others from further North in the county competing, is Stafford-born Ian Marsden.

The former power-lifter turned para-canoeist has one of the most remarkable stories out of all those competing at the games.

He began as a record-breaking junior world champion powerlifter. Then, after suffering a serious spinal injury, he embarked on an illustrious handcycling career. He suffered another injury which would then end his handcycling career, leading him to the water. The 44-year-old is the 2015 KL1 canoe European champion and 2014 World silver medalist.

The final athlete from the Black Country and Staffordshire to be competing at Rio is 43-year-old Alan Ash. Alan will represent team GB in the wheelchair rugby, a sport he has played for Great Britain since 1995.

He was part of the successful GB teams that won a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

He has competed at four Paralympic Games - Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing - with limited success, and has captained the team twice in his career.