Injury ruins Roberts's Reykjavik dream

By Paul Carter

Paralympic swimmers David Roberts and Danielle Watts have been forced to withdraw from the IPC Swimming European Championships in Reykjavik due to injury.

Eleven-time Paralympic champion Roberts, Great Britain’s joint highest medal winner, will have to sit out the event after suffering a fall.

The Welshman, who holds three world records, fractured his elbow and bruised his ribs and right shoulder, stopping him adding to the ten gold medals he’s already won at European events.

Watts, a Paralympic silver medallist and fellow world record holder, will also be forced to cry off.

The 29-year-old from Oxford has a rotator cuff injury that has led her to withdraw from the team.

Tim Reddish, National Performance Director of British Disability Swimming said: “It’s very sad and disappointing that both of these athletes obtained these injuries this close to the competition.

“The whole team of athletes, coaches and support staff wishes them well and hopes to see them back in the water as soon as possible.”

The IPC Swimming European Championships take place in Reykjavik from 18-26 October.

GB will be sending 39 swimmers, featuring 26 who competed in last year’s Paralympics in Beijing, including double Paralympic champion Eleanor Simmonds and six-time Paralympic champion Sascha Kindred.

Reddish said he was keen to see his team ready to take its first step towards the London 2012 Paralympic Games:

“The team has a good mix of youth and experience, with representation from not only all of our programmes [talent development schemes] but also from non-programmed athletes,” he said.

“This is the major meet of the year for our athletes and step one in the beginning of our four-year cycle. It’s also the first major international meet for those athletes who competed in Beijing and I think it will be a good test to see where we are in European disability swimming.”