Paralympic News

Petitclerc to work with GB Athletes

The 14-time Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc will join the British athletic team as a coach and mentor for the 2012 London Paralympics.

The 41-year-old Canadian competed at five Paralympics before retiring after the 2008 Beijing Games.

She will work directly with Britain's wheelchair racers alongside her own former coach Peter Eriksson, who is UK Athletics' Paralympic head coach

She will attend preparation camps and competitions from January 2012.

Petitclerc made her Paralympic debut in Barcelona in 1992, winning two bronzes, and went on to win a total of 21 Paralympic Games medals in distances from 100m to 1500m.

"I have a great passion for the sport and as an athlete I wanted to be the best in the world," she said.

"As a coach, I also want to work with the best in the world and I think that Peter and I, as well as the rest of the staff, share a real determination to succeed.

Click here for full story

GB judoka Lesley Reid ruled 'ineligible' for Europeans

British judoka Lesley Reid could miss the 2012 Paralympic Games after new tests ruled she is ineligible to compete at the visually impaired (VI) European Championships this weekend.

The 2010 World Championship bronze medallist, has been assessed on three previous occasions and classified as a 'B3' competitor, the lowest category for those with a registered disability.

However, results from tests in Crawley on Wednesday show the 49-year-old does not have a level of visual impairment to complete in VI tournaments.

"We are all very shocked and disappointed at the outcome, British Judo's Performance Programme Manager Dave Sanders.

"Whilst I agree sight classification needs to be more robust and equal, I am quite surprised to see such significant changes 10 months out from the Paralympic Games - and without prior notification."

The +78kg fighter, who began losing her eye-sight in 2004 and was forced to stop driving, only joined the GB setup in early 2010.

Click here for full story

Para-badminton stars net record medal haul on the world stage

England’s para-badminton stars gave the nation another reason to celebrate last week as they claimed a record haul of 5 medals at the BWF 2011 Parabadminton World Championships in Guatemala City.

The English contingent returned home from Central America with a quintet of 5 bronze medals to their name, after a series of strong performances against the best parabadminton players the world has to offer.

There was double delight for Avon’s Bobby Griffin who snared a pair of bronze medals in the STL3a Mens Singles and STL3 Mens Doubles categories – despite suffering a badly broken sport prosthesis early in the tournament.

Griffin claimed bronze in the Singles with a 21-8, 21-7 win over Evgeni Khodakov from Russia but his chase for gold was halted, somewhat unexpectedly, in defeats to Australia’s Rod Rantall and Steven Moodie from Scotland.

Griffin then doubled up on the podium, pairing with Moodie to win bronze in the Mens Doubles. Despite a tight 15-21, 21-19, 8-21 win over Randall and Oliver in the Quarter Finals, the Anglo-Scot duo were forced to settle for bronze after a 12-21, 9-21 loss to Malaysian duo Fozi and Sydney at the Semi Final stage.

There was also a podium place for Hertfordshire’s Gobi Ranganathan in the W3 Mixed Doubles discipline. Teaming up on court with Turkey’s Emine Seckin, Ranganathan pulled off an impressive 21-17 21-10 win over the Hong Kong/Netherlands pair of Ho Yeung Chan and Inge Bakke to win an unexpected Bronze medal.

In the STU5 Men’s Doubles, Antony Forster (Avon) and Israel’s Eyal Bachar lived up to their 2nd seed billing by topping their group with two wins, earning themselves a bye to the semi-final stage. However, their dream of gold was dashed as they suffered a 16-21 17-21 reversal to Japan’s Kohei Obara & Gen Shoyaki, meaning another bronze medal.

Krysten Coombs (Devon) was the other medallist for the English, grabbing 3rd place in the STD7 Men’s Singles. The 2nd seed’s two wins against Australian opponents were balanced against defeats to Russia’s Alexander Mekhidev and, eventual champion, Niall McVeigh (Ireland).

BADMINTON England’s Disability Manager Tom Webster was proud of the English efforts over the course of the Championships, stating “I’m delighted with the resolve and skill shown by the players, who have shown great spirit and tenacity in representing their country.

To bring back 5 medals from a top class event is an outstanding achievement”.

BPA statement on Scope survey results

The BPA released this statement today regarding the results of a survey by Scope.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO British Paralympic Association, said:

“No one disputes that the Paralympic Games has a crucial role to play in changing perceptions of disability. However for Scope to suggest that it would be appropriate to scrap the competition now and combine it with the Olympics fails to appreciate its unique purpose, scale and power. The Paralympics is already the second largest sporting event in the world, and London will see it take another huge leap forward in terms of awareness and understanding. We are working hard, along with Channel 4, the BBC and the London 2012 Organising Committee, to raise the profile of the Games, our sports and athletes.

“The brilliant success of ticket sales and the increase in media coverage indicates to me that, contrary to the survey’s sample, there is a big public appetite for Paralympic sport. While there is an agenda in terms of attitudes and perceptions of disability, the BPA wants as many people as possible, both disabled and non-disabled, to watch the Paralympics next year because first and foremost it is a world class sporting event in its own right. “

Click here to return to the newsletter