Pistorius confirmed for new PWC

Paul Carter

The 2010 Paralympic World Cup has received a boost as four-time Paralympic champion, Oscar Pistorius has confirmed he will be taking part.

The new look event is also to feature a new sport and an amended format as preparations progress for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

For the first time, 7-a-side football will be included in the schedule for the event that will once again be held across Manchester from 25 to 31 May, which is now firmly established as the largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite disability sport.

7-a-side football, which is contested by players with cerebral palsy, is played on a smaller pitch and has no offside rule.

Competing alongside the Great Britain team will be teams from the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and the USA.

GB 7-a-side team captain Jordan Raynes said he was “very excited” that football would be featuring at the event.

He said: “I live and play in Manchester, where we have a strong following for our county disability league, and to now have an international competition in my home city means so much to me.

“To have an elite event outside of the Paralympic Games with other leading football nations will be imperative to the team’s progression as we look forward to the 2012 Paralympic Games, and look to build on our seventh place finish in Beijing in 2008.”

Football will take the place at the event of track cycling, which ParalympicsGB said has been left off the schedule for 2010 to “enable other Paralympic sports to receive key competition and exposure in the build-up to London 2012”.

Wheelchair basketball, athletics and swimming will all feature as usual.

There is also a change to the format from previous competitions, with Great Britain’s athletes this year competing on a team basis against Europe, the Americas and the Rest of the World.

Phil Lane, chief executive of ParalympicsGB said: “An exciting new team format has been introduced to promote elite disability sport on the world stage and will give the opportunity for the GB team to demonstrate their sporting abilities and take on the best of the rest of the world as we increasingly look forward to the prospect of a home Paralympic Games in 2012.”

In a major boost to the event’s popularity, four-time Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius has also confirmed he will compete in the 100m and 400m track events.

“I’m delighted to be competing in this year’s BT Paralympic World Cup,” he said.

 “The event comes at a key time in my season and I will be looking to set fast times in the 100m and 400m. The London Paralympic Games are just two years away now and to have major international competition in the UK is crucial in my preparations as I look to defend my Paralympic titles and also compete in the Olympic Games. I always enjoy competing in Manchester as I receive
such great support.”