GB squad takes shape

Great Britain looks set to take a team of over 200 athletes to the Paralympics in Beijing this summer, with almost all sports declaring their final squads as Disability Now went to press.

The ParalympicsGB team will compete in a total of 18 sports at the Games, including first-time events five-a-side football and adaptive rowing alongside more traditional events such as athletics and swimming.

Wheelchair rugby captain Andy Barrow said: “It’s a tremendous honour to be selected to represent my country.

It’s going to be my second Paralympics but this time I will be captain, which is fantastic.”

The wheelchair rugby squad is also notable for containing Josie Pearson, Britain’s first ever female player.

ParalympicsGB chief executive Phil Lane said: “I am delighted to see that Josie is among the squad as she will become Britain’s first ever female wheelchair rugby player at a Paralympic Games, which shows that the sport in Britain is growing and developing in its appeal and competitive scope.”

Jon Pollock, who was part of the GB wheelchair basketball team that won bronze in Athens, said he was “overjoyed” with his selection for his third Paralympics.

He said: “The squad is a real mixture of youth and experience and I believe this year could be a special one for GB, a semi-final placing would be great.”

Nathan Milgate, who has been selected for GB’s shooting squad, called his selection for Beijing “a great honour”. “It will be a whole new experience for me, being my first Paralympics,” he said.

It is believed that about 30 per cent of the athletes selected in this year’s squad will be competing at their first Paralympic Games.

Lane said: “It is fantastic to see so many new faces among the athletes chosen for the Paralympics GB team for this summer, which is testament to how well the sports in Britain have embraced the need to nurture and identify talent.

“The Beijing Games will be a superb spectacle of sport and I look forward to seeing Britain’s athletes step up to the plate to put in some excellent performances to win Britain medals.”

The squad features a broad range of ages, with 13-year-olds Eleanor Simmons (swimming) and Hollie Arnold (athletics) named alongside 62-year-old Fred Stevens (archery) and 54-year-old Deanna Coates (shooting).

Other notable names in the squad include wheelchair racer David Weir, who will be looking for his first Paralympic gold, and reigning champions athlete Danny Crates and swimmer Natalie Jones.