Eindhoven 2014 serves as stepping stone for Swiss hopeful

For the first time in two years Switzerland sends swimmer to international championships. 01 Aug 2014
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Joshua Grob Switzerland Swimming

Joshua Grob is one of the medal hopes for the Swiss Paralympic team at Eindhoven

ⒸJoshua Grob
By IPC

“Joshua Grob has a lot of talent and we have reasons to get our hopes up. Eindhoven will show if the Swiss Paralympic team can plan with him for Rio in two years’ time.”

At just 17 years of age, Joshua Grob is the Swiss hopeful for the 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, taking place from 4-10 August.

With a British mother and a Swiss father who emigrated to South Africa, Grob actually lives in South Africa but decided to compete for his father’s home country. He is the first swimmer in the past two years competing at an international event for Switzerland after Chantal Cavin, bronze medallist at the 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships, had retired.

In 2013 Grob, who has had cerebral palsy since his birth, competed for the first time at the Swiss para-swimming championships and immediately won six titles. In Eindhoven he will be competing in the men’s 50m freestyle S8 and the men’s 100m freestyle S8.

Swiss national coach Martin Salmingkeit sees Eindhoven as an opportunity to see where Grob really stands. He said: “Joshua Grob has a lot of talent and we have reasons to get our hopes up. Eindhoven will show if the Swiss Paralympic team can plan with him for Rio in two years’ time.”

Grob will be one of around 400 swimmers from 37 different countries competing in the 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The event will be live-streamed via the IPC's YouTube channel.

For more information about the event, visit the event website.