August: The month in sport reviewed

August 2014 was another amazing month of para-sport, with nine major Championships taking place 01 Sep 2014
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Two swimmers smile at each other after competing at the 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships

Spain's multiple Paralympic champion Teresa Perales has been challenged in recent years by Norwegian Sarah Louise Rung.

ⒸKees-Jan van Overbeeke
By IPC

August 2014 saw nine major Championships taking place across the world of para-sport, including four World Championships and five regional championships and the IPC Athletics Grand Prix Finals.

Here is a review of the month’s action.

2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

Great Britain’s Jeannette Chippington was crowned a seven-time para-canoe world champion with two more titles in the K1 (A) 200m and the V1 (A) 200m in Moscow, Russia. Austria’s Markus Mendy Swoboda also put in an impressive performance to claim his fifth K1 (TA) 200m title in successive competitions.

Alltech World Equestrian Games 2014

British rider Lee Pearson broke his four year medal hoodoo by claiming the Grade Ib individual title in Normandy, France. There was a shock result as Italy’s Sara Morganti beat favourites Laurentia Tan and Great Britain’s Paralympic and world champion Sophie Christiansen in the team test event.

Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany also were the first nations to book their place at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

2014 World Rowing Championships

Australia’s Erik Horrie retained his world title with a dominant performance in the men’s single sculls (ASM1x) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There was also the retention of a world title by Paralympic champions Great Britain in the LTA mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+), as well as Ukraine’s Kateryna Morozona and Dmytro Aleksieiev in the LTA mixed double sculls (LTAMix2x) and by Australia’s Gavin Bellis and Kathryn Ross in the TA mixed double sculls (TAMix2x). Norway’s Birgit Skarstein also claimed gold in the AS women’s single sculls (ASW1x).

2014 International Wheelchair Rugby Federation World Championships

Australia were crowned world champions for the very first time as they beat Canada 67-56 in Odense, Denmark. The bronze medal went to the USA, who defeated Japan 62-56.

2014 IFDS Combined Sailing World Championships

Australia’s Paralympic champions Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch secured their first ever world title in Halifax, Canada, beating Great Britain’s ever strong Niki Birrell and Alexandra Rickham in the process. There was also victory for Germany’s Heiko Kroeger in the 2.4mR class, and France’s Bruno Jourdren, Nicolas Vimont-Vicary and Eric Flageul in the sonar class.

2014 TransCanada Corp. World Triathlon Grand Final

A total of six athletes won World titles for the very first time at the event in Edmonton, Canada.

The British team again dominated with eight medals, closely followed by the US which was responsible for the most gold medals at three.

Great Britain’s Lauren Steadman and Alison Patrick, Australia’s Sally Pilbeam, USA’s Krige Schabort and Kendall Gretsch and Russian Vasily Egorov all stormed to their first Worlds gold medals.

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships

Russia dominated the Euros in Swansea, Great Britain, with a whopping 41 gold medals. Ukraine were second with 17, and Great Britain came third with 16 gold medals. Key to Russia’s success was Margarita Goncharova, with the T38 athlete taking four gold medals. Her performance was also matched by Finland’s Henry Manni, and the Swiss pairing of Manuela Schaer and Marcel Hug. In an intense 100m T44 final, Great Britain’s Jonnie Peacock lived up to expectation to claim gold ahead of Germany’s Felix Streng.

At the IPC Athletics Grand Prix Finals in Birmingham, Great Britain, German long jumper Vanessa Low smashed her own world record by jumping 4.60m, 13cm ahead of her previous total. The Netherlands’ Marlou van Rhijn gave a season’s best to claim gold in the women’s T43/T44, and USA’s Richard Browne dominated the 100m T34/44 ahead of compatriot Jarryd Wallace and Streng, in the absence of rival Peacock.

2014 European Para-Archery Championships

Italy topped the medals table at the event in Nottwil, Switzerland, winning three gold and two bronze medals. With a total of 12 medal events 11 of the 24 competing countries took home at least one medal.

For more information on any of these events, visit the sports homepage of the Paralympic.org website.

2014 IPC Swimming European Championships

The competition in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, saw an amazing 24 world and 42 European records set across 161 medal events. This included five world and European records added during the last session alone. Ukraine topped the medal table with 37 gold medals, ahead of Russia who claimed 34 and Great Britain with 30. The best individual performer was Ukraine’s Yevheniy Bohodayko, who scooped nine medals, including seven golds. He was closely followed by his compatriot Dmytro Vynohradets (seven golds, one silver) and Great Britain’s Stephanie Slater (seven golds).

At the 2014 Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Australia topped the medals table with an impressive 55 golds, with the USA second (34 golds) and Brazil third (24 golds).

 

The 2014 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships conclude today (1 September) in Greenville, USA.