Great Britain, Australia, Canada add names for Rio 2016

British track and field stars and Australian and Canadian archery teams have been confirmed for the Paralympic Games. 29 Jul 2016
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Jonnie Peacock and David Weir

David Weir won four athletics golds in as many events at London 2012, and Jonnie Peacock took the top prize in the men's 100m T44.

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By NPC Great Britain, Australia and Canada

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) has announced 41 athletes added to the line-up for track and field at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of Australia and Canada also named their archery teams.

For Great Britain, 21 returning Paralympians include London 2012 gold medallist Jonnie Peacock; Beijing and London Paralympic medallist Libby Clegg; and Stephen Miller, one of the most experienced British athletes preparing for his sixth consecutive Paralympics.

After dazzling in front of his home crowd four years ago in the 100m T44 finals, Peacock will try to recreate the moment in Rio. Clegg will compete at her third Games in Rio, and her first with guide Chris Clarke. Crowned Commonwealth Champion in 2014, Clegg is coming off a world record in the T11 200m from July’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final.

New faces include former serviceman David Henson who took up sport following his rehabilitation from injury in Afghanistan in 2011; T44 sprinter Laura Sugar, who was spotted at a ParalympicsGB Sports Fest at the end of 2012; and teenager Kare Adenegan who completed Great Britain’s podium domination in the 800m T54 with a bronze medal at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Thirteen athletes, all gold or silver medallists at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were selected in June of this year, including Hannah Cockroft, David Weir and Richard Whitehead, taking the total number of track and field athletes to 54.

Bev Jones and Carly Tait were originally reserves for the athletics team. However, as a result of additional slots being made available to ParalympicsGB, they were added to the team that will compete at the Paralympic Games.

Discus thrower Jones will compete at her fifth Games after taking bronze at London 2012 in the F37 category. Tait made her British team debut at this summer’s European Championships and took double silver in the T34 100m and 400m.

More on Great Britain’s athletics team for Rio 2016 can be found on the BPA website.

 

Australia

For the first time in more than a decade, Australia is set to compete in archery at a Paralympic Games.

The Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) has announced that Jonathon Milne had earned selection on the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team, becoming the first Australian to qualify for the Paralympic sport since Athens 2004.

Milne, who placed fourth in the compound bow open classification at the 2015 World Archery Para Championships, has experienced a whirlwind of a sporting career since taking up the sport in 2014, after acquiring a spinal cord injury just two and a half years earlier.

Having dabbled in the target sport as a teenager, the Paralympic debutant rediscovered his love for archery while enjoying the challenge of mastering the art of his sport as a wheelchair user.

 

“Rio is an opportunity to test yourself and shoot with the best athletes in the world,” Milne said. “There isn’t a big competition in Para archery in Australia, and after placing fourth at the Worlds last year, I know I’m more than capable of competing against the best archers with similar disabilities to myself.”

More on Jonathon Milne can be found on the APC’s website.

 

Canada

Archery Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) have announced the nomination of Karen Van Nest and Kevin Evans to compete for archery at Rio 2016.

Van Nest will compete at her fifth Paralympic Games, while Evans will see his third Paralympics.

Evans is a two-time world champion (2007 and 2009) and won gold at the Guadalajara 2011 Parapan American Games. Van Nest won silver at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games and competed in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in pistol shooting. Rio will mark the second time that she competes at a Paralympic Games in archery.

More on Van Nest and Evans can be found on the CPC’s website.