Swimmer Vladyslava Kravchencko is heading to Rio de Janeiro to represent Malta at the Paralympic Games, the Malta Paralympic Council has announced. 

She will be Malta's sole Paralympic representative, after two other athletes, including Beijing 2012 Paralympian Antonio Flores, dropped out. 

READ: Maltese Paralympian turns tragedy into opportunity

Ms Kravchencko, who is coached by Isabelle Zarb, will compete in the 50m butterfly & backstroke in the S5 category and 100m breaststroke in the SB4 category. 

"Sports has allowed me to focus on leading a positive life despite the devastating
injury," Ms  Kravchencko, who has paraplegia, said. "In the past two years, I was able to put more time and energy into training, while still holding my job as an accountant at PwC, thanks to SportMalta Flexi Training Scheme."

Malta’s Paralympic movement is led by Nathan Farrugia and administered by Adelaide de Silva, who works at Inspire.

The country's small Paralympic moment is gradually growing, and currently encompasses wheelchair basketball, rugby, table tennis and archery,
besides swimming and athletics. Standards are high and qualifying for the Paralympics is a huge challenge, much like the Olympics.

A huge funding shortfall has cast a pall on the Rio Paralympics, with the games having been in jeopardy until the eleventh hour due to a lack of funds. Cash flow problems had a knock-on effect on Malta's potential participation at the games, until betting firm Betsson Group stepped in and helped fund the Malta Paralympic Committee's travel costs.