Sport week: Sailors to look out for at Rio 2016

Here are some of the sailors that are expected to shine at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Damien Seguin (FRA)

The Frenchman has been consistently amongst the best sailors in the 2.4m Norlin OD one-person keelboat during the last years and will be a strong contender for gold in Rio. In 2015, Seguin claimed his fourth world title and remained undefeated until last May’s Hyeres World Cup. The 36-year-old won gold at Athens 2004, silver at Beijing 2008 and finished fourth at London 2012, but has proven he is ready to return to the top of the Paralympic podium.

Heiko Kroeger (GER)

Kroeger won his eighth world title in May, showing great form and proving that after more than a decade competing he is still a sailor to look out for in the 2.4m Norlin OD. Germany’s 50-year-old claimed the Paralympic title 16 years ago, in Sydney, and silver at London 2012. “The level of the competition is much higher now, with many talented sailors, but I hope to stay healthy and go for a medal,” he said.

Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS)

After taking a break following their gold-medal performance at London 2012, the Australian duo returned in the SKUD18 to win their first world title, in 2014. Since then, they have also won gold at the 2015 Sailing World Cups in Melbourne, Australia, and Miami, USA, and at the 2015 World Championships. Even though they lost to Poland’s Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki at this year’s Worlds, the Australians will be the strong favourites for gold in Rio’s regatta.

John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas (GBR)

The trio competed at three Paralympic Games but have not won any medals so far. This might change at Rio 2016 considering the British sonar crew won the world title in 2015, and claimed silver at the 2016 Worlds. It will be a tough regatta with the USA’s Alphonsus Doerr, Bradley Kendell and Hugh Freund, and Australia’s Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden.

Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS)

The Australian trio is the world No. 1 sonar crew and will compete together at a Paralympic Games for the first time, in Rio. In the last three years, Harrison, Harris and Boaden have won several medals at World Championships and World Cups, and are hoping to climb onto the Paralympic podium this September.

Editor’s note: Each sport on the Rio 2016 Paralympic programme will have a dedicated week of featured content published on paralympic.org. Every week a new sport will be featured and the series will run until September’s Games, helping the public understand more about the 22 sports being contested in Rio.

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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.