Paralympic News

 

Olympics 2012 disability ticketing set out

GB Paralympic Shooters Impress at World Cup

Britain's Paralympic shooters dominated with six gold medals at the year's opening World Cup event in Poland.

 

Three-time Paralympic champion Di Coates won the 10m air rifle standing event

 

Nathan Milgate beat Paralympic champion Matt Skelhon to win the men's equivalent and also the mixed falling target rifle event.

 

Richard Davies won the mixed 10m air rifle standing, while James Bevis won the mixed 10m air rifle prone.

 

Coates, Milgate and Skelhon also won team gold.

Bevis led a GB clean sweep in his event with silver and bronze for Rob Mcleary and Ryan Cockbill.

 

There was also bronze for international newcomer Pam Grainger in the air pistol event. Grainger, an RAF corporal, lost the use of her arm in a motorbike accident and has come to the sport through the Battle Back programme - a joint scheme between ParalympicsGB and the Ministry of Defence that plays a key role in helping wounded service personnel return to an active life with the help of adventure training and sport.

 

The next World Cup meeting takes place in Turkey in April.

 

Both events give shooters the chance to reach the minimum qualification standard for the 2012 Paralympics in London.

 

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Oscar Pistorius eyes London 2012 with new Personal Best

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius's dream of running in the Olympic Games at London 2012 has moved a step closer after the South African set a new personal best.

 

Double amputee Pistorius clocked 45.61 seconds on Wednesday in the 400m at the Provincial Championships in Pretoria.

 

That time is just 0.06 seconds short of the 'A' standard needed for automatic Olympic qualification, should South Africa then grant him a 2012 place.

 

"I need to put my head down and push for it [now]," said Pistorius.

In 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favour of the four-time Paralympic champion after a lengthy legal battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations over his carbon fibre prosthetic running blades.

 

Pistorius was bidding to compete in the Beijing Olympics, but narrowly missed the qualifying time after clocking a best of 46.25 seconds.

 

The 24-year-old, who will compete at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester in May, was thrilled with his new best time.

 

"I am delighted that my new personal best of 45.61 is within the Olympic B qualification and it takes me that step closer to competing in the Olympics as well as the Paralympics in 2012," he said.

 

"It feels fantastic to have achieved a time that I knew I had in me and have been working towards for some time.

"My main goal in 2011 is to qualify for the able-bodied World Athletics Championships in Daegu, and the Paralympic World Cup is a very important event in my preparation process."

 

The 'B' standard that Pistorius has achieved is the back-up Olympic qualifying time, whereby competitors are sometimes called up to make an event competitive when there are not enough participants around the world who have qualified through the 'A' standard.

 

Pistorius suffered a surprise defeat in the 100m final at the IPC Paralympic Athletics World Championships in New Zealand in January, his first international loss in seven years over that distance.

Swimmer Natalie du Toit took part in the 10-kilometre open water event at the 2008 Olympics before winning five Paralympic titles, while arm amputee table tennis ace Natalia Partyka played in both the Olympic and Paralympic competitions in 2008.

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Britain name Swim Squad for Berlin Euros

The British Swimming team has been announced to face Europe’s elite at July’s International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming European Championships in Berlin, Germany.

 

The 43-strong British contingent includes double Paralympic Champion Eleanor Simmonds, multi-Paralympic medalist Sascha Kindred and world record holder Jonathan Fox.

 

The IPC Swimming European Championships, which run from 3 to10 July, will be the last benchmark meet for the athletes before the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

 

All the Brits will be looking to put a marker down before competing in front of their home crowd just a year later.

 

National Performance Director John Atkinson, who has been in charge of the programme for just under a year, believes his athletes have what it takes to impress in Berlin.

 

“The selection policy has allowed us to take a strong team of athletes that have the potential to improve on their times from Sheffield and make a mark in Berlin,” Atkinson said.

 

“The blend of experience and previous medalists together with youth is good for the future development of the team. This is the last benchmark meet before the London Paralympics and it will be good to see what our athletes have just a year away from the Games.

 

“For any team the aim is to improve from the trial event to the major meet of the year. I believe that if the swimmers work hard in their training and achieve improvements then they will put themselves in a good place for success at the European Championships.”

 

The British Swimming Team consists of:
James Anderson
Nicholas Boylan
James Crisp
Jonathan Fox
Oliver Hynd
Sam Hynd
Sascha Kindred
Andrew Mullen
Daniel Pepper
Benjamin Procter
Scott Quin
David Roberts
Craig Rodgie
Anthony Stephens
Matthew Walker
Robert Welbourn
Thomas Young
Gemma Almond
Claire Cashmore
Emma Cattle
Heather Frederiksen
Kate Grey
Rhiannon Henry
Charlotte Henshaw
Lauren Hobbins
Emma Hollis
Elizabeth Johnson
Natalie Jones
Harriet Lee
Nicole Lough
Natalie Massey
Stephanie Millward
Susannah Rodgers
Hannah Russell
Eleanor Simmonds
Lauren Steadman
Louise Watkin
Fran Williamson

 

Relay Team spaces:
Jack Bridge
Graham Edmunds
Sean Fraser
James Hollis
Simon Miller

 

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David Weir wins London Marathon

Britain's David Weir produced a commanding performance to win his fifth wheelchair London Marathon title.

 

The 31-year-old from Surrey moved ahead of Swiss rival Heinz Frei in the final 300 metres during an exciting finish.

 

Weir, who won three golds at the IPC World Championships in January, is now the most successful male wheelchair athlete in the race's history.

 

Meanwhile, Briton Shelley Woods was beaten on the line by American Amanda McGrory in the women's event.

 

The pair, along with Sandra Graf and Tatyana McFadden all turned into The Mall together.

But McGrory and Woods went clear of the other two before the American, who won the Paris marathon last week, pipped the Briton by about half a wheel.

 

Woods said she was happy with her performance despite the narrow defeat.

"I was trying hard during that little bit but Amanda was too strong," said the 24-year-old.

"It was fast and I enjoyed it. You always knew it would come down to a sprint on this course. I was trying to save a little for the finish."

McGrory, who won in 2009, was delighted with the conditions. "It feels wonderful - it was the best weather for wheelchair racing," said the American.

 

"It was gorgeous weather when he started. It's warm and sunny now but luckily we finished before it became too hot."

 

Weir said it was difficult race but said his new chair helped him to victory.

"It was tough all the way," he said.

"I kept surging to see who was good and who wasn't. When Frei surged at the end I didn't think I could keep up.

 

"The new chair has made a big difference for me.

"I've won this one for my coach Jen's [Jenny Archer] mum who passed away recently."