chiefs in the super bowl. american football's biggest night. now on bbc news. running as one.

yours to run with you... athletes without vision or impairment use a guide runner. for rakshitha, that is rahul. for simran, abhay. for an athlete who is a woman and blind, and an orphan raised translation: people | would say, "she's blind. she is a waste." because what's in it for them?

idyllic and very remote. of guddanahalli. this is where rakshitha raju was born. then it was only me and my grandma. speech and hearing—impaired, their disabilities meant

worry or think too much. she said, "you are my little girl "and i will be with you always." each other that they were not. while at rakshitha's home, her brother helped bridge didn't have parents. neither did rakshitha. she says she doesn't want rakshitha to end up like her. rakshitha thrived

on this strength. teacher in her village school, she moved to bangalore, translation: i kept asking, "how do i run, as i'm blind i "and cannot see the track?" guide runner more than myself. i have a lot of confidence in my tether. protects me when i fall. ra kshitha was lucky. she found rahul.

on a track and which line they have to run. what a guide runner is. he was a middle—distance runner who had participated translation: i ran as a guide |

runner with shavaad at the 2014 then i slowly shifted to training para athletes because there weren't many coaches for them. a shared international medal for the guide runner rahul had finally got what he had dreamt of. a new world opened up. they ran together and won gold at the 2018 asian para games. rahul was driven to do more now. and able—bodied athletes to be their guide runners. soon, he realised the challenges. they go out on the track.

on the ground with them. we have to show them how to do each exercise, make them do it with us, like lifting weights or knee exercises. for the paris paralympics. up, up, up! she is partially sighted. right now, blurred.

to make out who you are. for the 100m race at the tokyo paralympics. but in the middle, there is a line that bends. into the lane next to mine. i came back to my lane. three! one! two! "what do you want from life?" and she said, "i want to run."

it was hard to find a guide runner. the government body for developing para sport with a long—term career path. nice. been a guide runner. in central india, abhay had never even met an athlete

athletes or paralympics. even i didn't know about blind runners. when i ran for the first time, they sent me videos. translation: when we run on a curve, the hand -

situation because his body remains straight at all times. so, my body also aligns and straightens itself and it all got tested when abhay and simran ran together at the 2024 world para athletics championships. t12 category. but the other race they ran ended in heartbreak. in the 100m race at the world championship. so we didn't realise. he thought he had to stop to let me cross the line first,

meant we got disqualified. i have to allow her to cross the finish line first before i do. but let her get ahead of me. i need to stay fit. abhay needs to stay fit, too. body getting injured.

every athlete i met had their own reasons for opting to be a guide runner, like tabres, who had taken me to meet rakshitha's family. translation: basically, | i am also a sportsperson, i practised for four years - but then had to stop because of financial constraints. training and running| with them felt good. it felt like i was running my race and winning medals. l

treated at par with the athlete by sports bodies — for example, only to the para athletes. no money. brought rahul into this community, but says to guide runners. as pci, as the government, what incentives... guide runners as coaches.

payment from the government that is equivalent to 50% of the athlete's cash prize, and the same should be given then again, the athlete should share their prize money at their school. shanti's lifejourney is not unique. translation: i came here when i was in ninth grade, in 2021. - before that, i studied in delhi. i live here in this hostel. children with partial

or full visual impairment, to support them. excited chatter just as low—vision students become guide runners for those

very exhausted. ready? yes. begin. the uncertainty about getting a guide runner will only increase when she finishes school. translation: as soon as i start running fast, my vision blurs. - of guide runners. but don't get them for the actual competition, it will have an impact on my performance. one step could be to break silos. on a rain—soaked day

at the mumbai marathon, it's none other than cricket legend sachin tendulkar he's flagging off a marathon where runners with visual to stay fit, but it soon became a passion. my aim with guide running is that the visually impaired

of guide runners. were happening. it's a thriving community now, with the champions championing them. ankur dharma is india's first blind athlete to participate at the paralympics in rio de janeiro in 2016. ..continues to inspire a lot... translation: that - experience was very nice. impaired was in a very bad state at that time,

awareness about para athletes and higher commitment by the government and corporate sector towards para sports followed. from four medals in that 2016 paralympics, india won 29 are a result of that. like that."

small wins making way for large strides. they cheer i will also get the medal. is quite huge. her husband's support has meant that she's

after marriage. but simran wasn't facing them alone. translation: gajendra was facing taunts. - "you have accumulated so many loans just to train your wife. after the missed opportunity in the tokyo paralympics, very good. every morning, i get up and stare at my medal, every time!

and when she won this first one — which is so close to her heart — in 2018, at the asian inspire and do sports. everyone came and congratulated her. really special. yeah. and that's you? yeah, yeah. in 2023, they bagged their second gold medal on their return. so, what did you say to the prime minister? "i was using this tether when i won the gold medals so, that's what you are going to do now? yes. yet hope remains, because

rakshita has the certainty the top and win. other athletes, so they might get motivated to come out i at the paris paralympics.

translation: i just thought, "i have to run today _ "and not take any pressure." so, i ran. told me we ran my personal best timing — 24.7 seconds. i couldn't stop myself. ijumped down from the stands with the indian flag. to prepare. you visited us, you saw it. international level. the uncertainty about their guide runner remains. able to continue?

and does simran need a different partner to nail the ioo—metre race? because for her, this win is not enough. that's my dream. it's a shared dream. hello. for most of the country, this afternoon is going to continue lingering and loitering.

the cloud is extensive today, but we have had a few breaks temperatures were down at —9 earlier this morning. next few days, then, dominated by high pressure and this afternoon, its extensive cloud that we'll have some rain pushes into south—east england, areas of wales. the best of today's sunshine continues continue to feel cold — temperatures actually for most of us between four and six celsius. bits and pieces of rain elsewhere across eastern of the pennines above 300m elevation, and a frost again

so a damp and drizzly kind of day here. of the pennines as well, from the showers that will come in here. to six celsius, with mist and fog patches around as well. the far west of cornwall. and even taking a look

at the longer range outlook, although western areas may well see a bit of rain towards friday, perhaps with a bit of snow for a time up over the hills, perhaps brighter into next week. you can check out how cloudy it is where you are on the app. live from london. this is bbc news of the netzarim corridor, which cuts the gaza strip these are live pictures from ecuador, national assembly elections.

the first president of independent namibia, sam nuyoma, has died at the age of 95. and one of the world's biggest sporting events returns controlled by israeli troops since november 2023. re—opening it was a condition of the ceasefire deal with hamas. people walking on foot and on donkeys.