First athletes named for the British Paralympic team
Last week Team GB announced the very first athletes selected for this summer's Paralympic Games. With just over two months to go until the Games begin, we are proud to share that four of the ten athletes named are from England!
Seven-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft (Leeds City, Paul Moseley) will be returning for her fourth Paralympic Games fresh from claiming two new titles at the recent World Championships in Kobe. This championships comes two years on from her magical win in the T34 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham for Team England.
Joining Hannah will be fellow T34 athlete, Kare Adenegan (Coventry, Job King). With two Paralympic silvers from Tokyo 2020 and a silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Kare will be fighting to go one spot better on the podium this summer.
Over on the field, the T64 high jump Paralympic Rio silver and Tokyo gold medallist and recent world champion, Jonathan Broom-Edwards (Newham and Essex Beagles, Beth Partridge) will be looking to retain his title.
Completing the English quartet is javelin thrower extraordinaire, Dan Pembroke (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, John Trower). He has certainly already asserted his dominance over the F13 javelin as he claimed the world title last month. The question for Dan is how far can he throw as the current Paralympic champion and record holder.
Speaking on the announcement, England Athletics Para Athletics Manager Matt Kendrick said:
"It is fantastic to share the first athletes selected for the Paralympic Games this summer. The athletes along with their coaches and support teams have been working incredibly hard within this shortened Paralympic cycle with some outstanding performances at the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and World Championships. The first wave of athletes announced has some real strength and depth in terms of achievements and experience and we are excited to see which athletes will join them on the team with the final announcement following our National Para Championships in Birmingham which falls on the last weekend of the Paralympic qualification window. We are hopeful that seeing world class English para athletes competing on the biggest stage in sport will inspire the next generation of para athletes."
First wave team selection
- Kare Adenegan (Job King, Coventry) – T34 100m and 800m
- Hollie Arnold (Scott Knighton, Blackheath & Bromley) – F46 Javelin
- Olivia Breen (Aston Moore, City of Portsmouth) – T38 Long Jump
- Hannah Cockroft (Paul Moseley, Leeds) – T34 100m and 800m
- Sabrina Fortune (Ryan Spencer-Jones, Deeside) – F20 Shot Put
- Sammi Kinghorn (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) – T53 100m, 400m and 800m
- Aled Davies (Ryan Spencer-Jones, Cardiff) – F63 Shot Put
- Jonathan Broom-Edwards (Beth Partridge, Newham and Essex Beagles) – T64 High Jump
- Dan Pembroke (John Trower, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) – F13 Javelin
- Ben Sandilands (Steve Doig, Fife) – T20 1500m