19th January 2010

Paralympian Reid To Compete For GB

 

19 January 2010

UKA have today announced that promising young Paralympian Stefanie Reid has been cleared to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The talented 25 year old who won a bronze medal in the T44 200m for Canada at the Beijing Paralympic Games, is also an accomplished long jumper and will train regularly in Great Britain in the approach to the 2012 London Paralympics.

Reid – who is married to Canadian T53 wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos – is eligible to compete for Great Britain as her parents are both British and settled in Toronto when Reid was just 4 years old.

She said: “UKA has committed to excellence in both Paralympic and Olympic programmes with facilities, coaching and support to back it up. I am excited to experience being part of the home team in London 2012, ironically I will have a larger cheer in the crowd here than where I grew up as all my extended family is British!”

Reid who will work closely with Lee Valley Performance Centre Director Dan Pfaff will continue to live in Dallas, Texas outside of her busy training schedule.

UKA Paralympic Head Coach Peter Eriksson said: “I have known Stefanie for some time as I previously worked with her husband Brent before coming to the UK.

“It is great for the UK that she will compete for us – we currently do not have any athlete in her class at that level but I am sure her presence will inspire developing athletes. She has the potential win two medals in London and I know she will make a great addition to the team.”

Other key facts about Reid:

  • Her father is from Glasgow whilst her mother hails from Durham and both worked in the travel industry

  • Stefanie was actually born in New Zealand during one of their overseas work contracts and has citizenship for three countries. (GB, CAN and NZ)

  • Her husband Brent was sixth in the Men’s T53 100m at the Beijing Paralympics in the race where Team GB’s Mickey Bushell won silver.

  • Her strongest event is the long jump – but she says she ‘botched her performance’ at the Paralympics – however her 200m bronze was a huge personal best.

  • Her sporting hero is Paula Radcliffe as she is a great example of ‘how tough women are’