With almost all the sports qualification slots confirmed, Britain looks set to field a team of more than 210 athletes, a 27 per cent increase on the team of 165 athletes that represented GB at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.
With adaptive rowing making its debut in Beijing and Britain entering a five-a-side football team for the first time at the Paralympic Games, ParalympicsGB will compete in more sports, a total of 18, than ever before at the Games in Beijing.
With just over three months to go, ParalympicsGB has officially selected 85 GB athletes for Beijing in the sports of table tennis, sailing, powerlifting, judo, sailing, swimming and wheelchair basketball. Over the next two months all the other competitors will be named, before a full-team celebration in Birmingham at the end of July.
With a number of key athletes retiring over the last four years it’s reassuring for GB to see the number of young athletes coming into the squad for their first Paralympic Games this summer. It’s thought that around 30 per cent of those selected for the ParalympicsGB team in Beijing will be first time Paralympians.
At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Britain finished second in the medal table with a total of 35 golds, 30 silver and 29 bronze medals and in Beijing will aim to further cement its position as one of the top nations by exceeding this medal count.
With competitive standards continually rising and the dominant Chinese team taking the home advantage ParalympicsGB recognises that reaching this target at the 2008 Paralympics will be one of its biggest challenges yet.
ParalympicsGB Chief Executive and Chef De Mission for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Phil Lane, said: “100 days to go until the Games is an important milestone for us all at ParalympicsGB to concentrate our efforts and ensure we are able to send the best prepared team of athletes and staff to the Beijing Paralympics.
“It is fantastic to see so many new faces among the athletes selected for the ParalympicsGB 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 Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will run from September 6 to 17 with an estimated 4000 athletes from 150 countries competing to become Paralympic Champions in 471 events.
