26 July 2016 

Meet the 41 athletes added to the line-up for track and field in Rio as a number of Paralympic, World and European medallists were selected to ParalympicsGB.

Among the 21 returning Paralympians are London 2012 gold medallist Jonnie Peacock, silver medallist Libby Clegg, who set a new T11 200m world record at last weekend’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final, and Stephen Miller, the most experienced athlete named today, set to compete at his sixth consecutive Paralympic Games

Peacock, who set the Olympic Stadium alight with a blistering performance on his Paralympic debut in 2012, said: “I’m so happy to be able to say that I’m officially going to Rio. Throughout this cycle we’ve seen just how competitive the T44 class is and I know there are going to be some incredibly fast times in Rio. I’m looking forward to racing with the best and I know the support from back at home will supercharge me to give a performance to be proud of.”

New faces include former serviceman David Henson who took up sport following his rehabilitation from injury in Afghanistan in 2011, T44 sprinter Laura Sugar, who was talent-spotted at a ParalympicsGB Sports Fest at the end of 2012 and teenager Kare Adenegan who completed GB’s podium domination in the T34 800m with a bronze medal at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha.

Speaking today, Henson said: “It’s always an honour to represent your country and I’m so proud that I will be making my Paralympic debut in Rio. This is the real pinnacle of our sport and a huge amount of hard work has gone on behind the scenes day in and day out to make this happen. I can’t wait to go out and compete in Brazil and give a lifetime-best performance on the track.”

Adenegan, the youngest track and field athlete to be selected today, added: “I loved watching the London 2012 Paralympics and I can’t quite believe that four years later I’m part of the team! It is really exciting and I’m so ready to go out there and race, but I’m just going to focus on my performance and make it the best it can be.”

Penny Briscoe MBE, Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB, said:

“This is a formidable line-up and I’m really excited to welcome these athletes to the team today. With a mix of experienced names and new faces, we can look forward to some really exciting performances in Rio and more memorable moments from our track and field athletes. 

“This is set to be the most competitive Paralympics ever but I know there is serious medal potential here and it pays testament to the hard work of Paula Dunn and her team at British Athletics. I’d like to wish the athletes all the very best with their final preparations for the Games.”

Paula Dunn, British Athletics’ Paralympic Head Coach, said: “I’m so proud of all the athletes selected today, and of the incredibly strong team of track and field athletes that we are taking to compete in Rio in just a few weeks’ time. There is some incredible talent here and the athletes have put everything into their training to ensure we are a world class team. We will be a force to be reckoned with once competition begins.” 

Thirteen athletes, all gold or silver medallists at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were selected in June of this year, including Hannah Cockroft, David Weir and Richard Whitehead, taking the total number of track and field athletes to 54.

Today’s announcement takes the number of selected athletes to 256 from 19 sports. 

All selected athletes are:

Kare Adenegan (Job King) – T34 100m, 400m & 800m 

Hollie Arnold (Anthony Hughes) – F46 Javelin 

Graeme Ballard (Trevor Painter) – T36 100m 

Paul Blake (Rob Ellchuk) – T36 400m and 800m 

Dan Bramall (Rick Hoskins) – T33 100m

Olivia Breen (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo) – T38 100m, Long Jump &4x100m relay 

Jonathan Broom-Edwards (Fuzz Caan) – T44 High Jump 

Mickey Bushell (Jenny Archer) – T53 100m, 400m & 4x400m relay 

Jo Butterfield (Philip Peat/Shona Malcolm) – F51 Club Throw & Discus 

Richard Chiassaro (Jenni Banks) – T54 100m, 400m, 800m & 4x400m 

Libby Clegg (guided by Chris Clarke) (Joe McDonnell) – T11 100m & 200m 

Hannah Cockroft (Jenni Banks) – T34 100m, 400m & 800m 

Kadeena Cox (Brian Scobie) – T38 100m, 400m & 4x100m relay 

Vanessa Daobry (Alison O’Riordan) – F34 Shot Put 

Aled Davies (Ryan Spencer-Jones) – F42 Shot Put

Kyron Duke (Anthony Hughes) – F41 Shot Put & Javelin 

Sabrina Fortune (Ian Robinson) – F20 Shot Put 

Toby Gold (Jenni Banks) – T33 100m 

Dan Greaves (John Godina) – F44 Discus

Kylie Grimes (Philip Peat) – F51 Club Throw 

Sophie Hahn (Joe McDonnell) – T38 100m & 4x100m relay 

David Henson (Roger Keller) – T42 100m & 200m 

Georgina Hermitage (Paul MacGregor) – T37 100m, 400m & 4x100m relay 

Jordan Howe (Keith Antoine) – T35 100m & 200m 

Abbie Hunnisett (Anthony Hughes) – F32 Club Throw

Mo Jomni (Jenny Archer) – T53 100m, 400m, 800m & 4x400m relay 

Bev Jones (John Parkin) – F37 Discus 

Jade Jones (Ian Thompson/Tanni Grey-Thompson) – T54 800m, 1500m & 5000m 

Rhys Jones (Christian Malcolm) – T37 100m 

Sophie Kamlish (Rob Ellchuk) – T44 100m 

Samantha Kinghorn (Ian Mirfin) – T53 100m, 400m & 800m 

Simon Lawson (Ian Thompson) – T54 Marathon 

Maria Lyle (Tabo Huntley) – T35 100m, 200m & 4x100m relay 

Nathan Maguire (Steven Hoskins) – T54 4x400m relay 

Polly Maton (Colin Baross) – T47 100m & Long Jump 

Stephen Miller (Ros Miller) – F32 Club Throw  

Steven Morris (James Thie) – T20 1500m 

Mel Nicholls (Job King) – T34 400m & 800m 

Holly Neill (Andrew Roda) – F41 Discus 

Stephen Osborne (Jenni Banks) – T51 100m & 400m 

Jonnie Peacock (Dan Pfaff) – T44 100m 

Gemma Prescott (Mike Wood) – F32 Club throw 

Derek Rae (Ron Morrison) – T46 Marathon 

Stef Reid (Aston Moore) – T44 Long Jump 

Julie Rogers (Allen Adamson) – T42 100m 

Ben Rowlings (Job King) – T34 100m & 800m 

Sam Ruddock (Jim Edwards) – F35 Shot Put 

Andrew Small (Rick Hoskins) – T33 100m 

Laura Sugar (Femi Akinsanya) – T44 100m & 200m 

Carly Tait (Rick Hoskins) – T34 100m 

Isaac Towers (Peter Wyman) – T34 800m 

Kieran Tscherniawsky (Jim Edwards) – F33 Shot Put 

David Weir (Jenny Archer) – T54 400m, 800m, 1500m, 4x400m relay & Marathon 

Richard Whitehead (Keith Antoine) – T42 100m & 200m