Belgium names first athletes on Rio 2016 team

Belgium has named the first three athletes who will represent their country at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games from 7 September.

Marc Ledoux, Laurens Devos and Florian Van Acker were confirmed as part of the delegation by Chef de Mission Olek Kazimirowski from the Belgian Paralympic Committee.

Rio 2016 will be Devos’ first Paralympic Games. The young table tennis player, who will turn 16 during the Paralympics, is a growing force in the sport. Constantly evolving, he was crowned European champion in Velje, Denmark, last September in class 9. As the current world No. 3, the Paralympic Committee believes he is a firm medal prospect.

Florian Van Acker will also be a very serious contender in Brazil. The Flemish athlete, 19, is currently the world No.1 in table tennis class 11. He also brought back gold from the European Championships in 2015 and bronze at the World Championships in 2014.

Ledoux will be a source of experience for his young teammates. Present in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, the Belgian has a wealth of knowledge of competing at the highest level. Individual medalist (silver) and team (gold) in Athens, and currently in 11th in the world in class 8, he will again be determined to perform well.

The selection process will continue in the coming months in other Paralympic disciplines.

The relevant International Federations will award each country a number of slots based on the performance of athletes in the lead-up to Rio 2016.

The board of the Belgian Paralympic Committee will decide which athletes will take the slots, based on the recommendations of a Selection Committee.

Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs).

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.