Germany announces Rio 2016 delegation

“Generally speaking, we do have a very balanced squad and we are definitely going to fight for the medals in Rio”

The National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Germany has named the 148 athletes who will compete in 18 sports at Rio 2016.

Many eyes will be on long jumper Markus Rehm when he will seek to defend his title in the men’s long jump T44 from London 2012. At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, Rehm leaped to new heights by setting a new world record of 8.40m; he is the only Para athlete to break eight metres.

Germany’s women wheelchair basketball team returns to the Paralympics to retain their title from London 2012 as well; seven of the 12 on the roster will return from that gold-medal team. The German women’s team will go for their third consecutive Paralympic medal (having taken silver in Beijing 2008).

“Generally speaking, we do have a very balanced squad and we are definitely going to fight for the medals in Rio,” said women’s wheelchair basketball coach Holger Glinicki.

Former wheelchair basketball player Edina Muller is going for gold in another sport, as she switched to Para canoe, which will makes its Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.

Muller won the world title at the 2016 International Canoe Federation World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, beating her rival, Great Britain’s 2015 world champion Jeanette Chippington. A big showdown between Muller and Chippington this September is expected.

The German delegation will travel to Rio with a well-balanced mix of athletes. Seventeen-year old swimmer Janina Breuer is the youngest member on the squad whilst nine-time Paralympic champion Marianne Buggenhagen will make her seventh Paralympic Games appearance in the throwing events at 63 years.

Germany’s Chef de Mission Dr. Karl Quade, who is leading the Paralympic team for the 11th time is satisfied with the line-up. “With 148 athletes we have nominated a powerful team for the Paralympic Games in Rio,” he said.

“Apart from many familiar athletes we are also very happy to see that many young talents are joining our squad,” Quade added.

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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.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.