New Zealand name team for Pan-Pacific Championships

“The size of this team really shows the work that been going on behind the scenes with the NZ para-Swimming programme and we are looking to this event to provide a great testing ground to see where our performances sit on the international stage.”

Paralympics New Zealand has announced its team selected for the 2014 Pan-Pacific Para-Swimming Championships, which take place in California, USA from 6-10 August.

Five members of the nine-strong team had outstanding performances at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships and contributed to the biggest medal haul ever by a New Zealand team at such an event, winning 15 medals in total.

The team is headlined by Paralympic stars Sophie Pascoe and Mary Fisher – both multi-medal winners and world record holders. They are joined by fellow Paralympian and world-record holder Nikita Howarth. Both Pascoe and Howarth will be joining the team after competing at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The team also welcomes the return of Paralympian Rebecca Dubber to the international swimming scene after a short break.

The four Paralympians will be joined by 2013 team member Jesse Reynolds, who will be looking to build on his first international experience at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships.

Four exciting additions to the team are newcomers Georgia Gray, Tayla Clement, Daniel Gaualofa and Chris Arbuthnott. These swimmers will all make their international debut and look to build on their national experience.

“We are very excited about this team as we believe we have a great depth of experience and enthusiasm.” Said head coach Jon Shaw.

“The size of this team really shows the work that been going on behind the scenes with the NZ para-Swimming programme and we are looking to this event to provide a great testing ground to see where our performances sit on the international stage. We believe we have a high chance of success following on from recent results at the NZ Open Swimming Championships.”

The full New Zealand team and athlete hometowns include:

Sophie Pascoe, Christchurch

Mary Fisher, Wellington

Rebecca Dubber, North Shore

Nikita Howarth, Cambridge

Jesse Reynolds, Hamilton

Georgia Gray, London

Tayla Clement, Auckland

Daniel Gaualofa, Whangarei

Chris Arbuthnott, Palmerston North