Briscoe named ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission for Sochi 2014

Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games © • Sochi 2014

Related Videos

Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games Video

Related News

Sochi 2014 unveils Paralympic Torch

Media accreditation opens for IPC Alpine and IPC Nordic skiing World Championships

“Penny is one of the most experienced people working in Paralympic sport in the UK and knows the environment incredibly well, so I’m delighted she has taken on the role."

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) announced on Tuesday (15 January) that Performance Director Penny Briscoe will be the Chef de Mission for the British team at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

For Briscoe, who was a Deputy Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB at London 2012, Sochi will be her sixth Paralympic Games. She has been Director of Performance for the BPA since 2002 and has been one of the main architects of the British team’s performances at the Paralympic Games, where the team has maintained a top three position for four consecutive Summer Games despite increasing international competition.

She was a Deputy Chef de Mission at the Vancouver 2010 Games and was also part of the team delegation at the Torino 2006 Games.

“Separating the Chef de Mission and CEO functions worked extremely well in London and we were keen to replicate the model for Sochi,” BPA Chief Executive Tim Hollingsworth said.

"While a much smaller team than in London, we are committed to providing the same world class support.

“Penny is one of the most experienced people working in Paralympic sport in the UK and knows the environment incredibly well, so I’m delighted she has taken on the role. As a former athlete herself, she understands all the stresses and strains that the Games can pose, and she epitomises the athlete-centred focus of the work that the BPA does. She has also been at the heart of all our Sochi planning and is passionate about leaving no stone unturned in our performance preparations."

ParalympicsGB hopes to send athletes to compete in wheelchair curling, alpine skiing and ice sledge hockey at Sochi 2014, dependent on qualification.

Briscoe’s first task therefore will be to monitor performances of all winter sports at their upcoming World Championships events.

“I was absolutely delighted to have been asked to take on this position,” Briscoe told the BPA. “It is an honour and a privilege to be a Chef de Mission and I’m looking forward to bringing all my experience to this new challenge of leading a ParalympicsGB team at a Games.

“We know that working in Russia will be challenging, potentially more so than at either London or Vancouver, but this is where I believe the skills and experience I have developed over seven Paralympic and Olympic cycles will prove beneficial to the team.

“My ambition is that at Sochi, every athlete and staff member in ParalympicsGB will have the mental and physical tool kit and the support framework to thrive in the Games environment. That is much bigger ambition than it may sound, because the Paralympics is so much more complicated an environment than a World Championships. We already have detailed plans in place to develop those skills and that support.”