Picked not only for their performances but also for their media presence, the athletes will feature across several media platforms – both digital and print, "in an effort to make them household names" in the run-up to the World Championships in Chungju, South Korea, on August 25 to September 1.

Beijing 2008 gold medallist Aggar (pictured top) is the reigning world champion in the ASM1x boat class, while Tardieu – a Paralympic silver medallist – most recently won the mixed double sculls event with his partner Perle Bouge at the 2013 World Rowing Cup at Eton Dorney in June.

Paralympic women's ASW1x single sculls champion Lysenko is also a two-time world champion, who finished second at last month's World Cup, while Masters and her teammate, Rob Jones, won the United States' first-ever Paralympic medal in the TaMix2x boat classification when they won bronze behind China and France at London 2012.


Masters has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and posed semi-nude for ESPN The Magazine's annual body issue.

"All of these rowers have either won medals at a Paralympic Games or another major international event," read an IPC statement.

"They have also proven to not only be ambassadors for their sport but also more than charismatic during media appearances...

"These names are not necessarily the Ones to Watch athletes for Rio 2016, but are the ones to keep your eyes on throughout the upcoming major events."

The IPC's Ones to Watch campaign was launched in the lead-up to London 2012 to raise the profiles of leading medal contenders in Paralympic sports.

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