31 March 2011

Six World Champions including F44 Discus World Record holder Dan Greaves (coach: Jim Edwards) are included in a 26-strong Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester on Friday 27 May.

Greaves – who recorded an outstanding 58.98m to defend his IPC Athletics World Championships title in New Zealand in January – exceeded his previous global best by over three metres, and is in the form of his life.

“I’m really excited about competing for the Aviva GB&NI team again at the Paralympic World Cup, especially after our success at the IPC World Championships in New Zealand,” said the defending champion and World Championships gold medallist. “For the team it’s another great chance to showcase Britain’s talent, and for me it’s an opportunity to better last year’s World Leading mark which I achieved in this event.

“I’m competing at the Loughborough International a week before Paralympic World Cup and that proved a really vital competition for me last year – and a great warm up for Manchester – when I set an unofficial World Record (at the time).”

He’s joined by sprint trio Libby Clegg (coach: Tom Crick) – who is targeting her third successive Paralympic World Cup victory in the T12 100m – Katrina Hart (coach: Rob Ellchuk) and Richard Whitehead, F57 Javelin world champion Nathan Stephens (coach: Anthony Hughes) plus multiple World Championships medallist Paul Blake (coach: Rob Ellchuk).

Peter Eriksson, Aviva GB&NI Team Leader, said: “This is our first senior outing since the IPC World Championships and it’s important that we continue where we left off in New Zealand.

“We’ve now proved that we can deliver on the global stage and challenge the most powerful Paralympic nations in the world, and competing at the Parlaympic World Cup in Manchester gives our athletes a massive opportunity to experience what it’s like to compete on front of a home crowd, something they’re all aspiring to with less than 500 days to go until the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“I’m delighted that we’re starting to see a transition to a much more professional squad overall with a fantastic team spirit. Our most experienced athletes need to deliver in competition but they also need to act as role models for the senior debutants, including those who will win their first international vest in IWAS World Junior Championships next month, and I’m confident that will happen.”

Unfortunately, due to the fixture clash with the Swiss National Championships in Arbon, which is traditionally one of highest profile wheelchair meets on the calendar with one of the fastest tracks in Europe, wheelchair events have been withdrawn from this year’s Paralympic World Cup.

AVIVA GB & NI TEAM

Ola Abidogun (Steve Thomas): T46 100m/200m

James Ball (Jane Coia): T13 100m/200m

Graeme Ballard (Steve Thomas): T36/37 100m/200m

Paul Blake (Rob Ellchuk): T36/37 800m

Sally Brown (Philip Tweedy): T46 100m/200m

Kenny Churchill (Esa Utriainen): F36/37/42/44 Javelin

Libby Clegg (Tom Crick): T12 100m/200m

Aled Davies (Anthony Hughes): F44 Discus/Shot Putt

Dan Greaves (Jim Edwards): F42/44 Discus

Sophie Hancock (Shelley Holroyd): F40 Shot Putt

Katrina Hart (Rob Ellchuk): T36/37 100m/200m

Ian Jones (John Dunne): T44 100m, T42/44 400m

Chris Martin(Phil Peat): F33/34/57 Discus

Jenny McLoughlin (Darrell Maynard): T36/T37 100m/200m

Dean Miller (Bud Baldaro): T36/37 800m

Scott Moorhouse (Shelley Holroyd): F36/37/42/44 Javelin

Holly Neill (Andrew Roda): F40 Shot Putt

Kyle Powell (Paul Macgregor): T46 100m/200m

Stefanie Reid (Dan Pfaff): T44 100m, F44/F46 Long Jump

Hazel Robson (Janice Coffman): T36.37 100m/200m

Ben Rushgrove (Rob Ellchuk): T36/37 100m/200m

Vicky Silk (Anthony Hughes): F40 Shot Putt

Nathan Stephens (Anthony Hughes) F57 Discus

Kieran Tscherniawsky (Jim Edwards): F33/34/57 Discus

Richard Whitehead (Liz Yelling): T42/44 200m

Paul Willis (Angela Robertshaw): T13 100m/200m

The Paralympic World Cup, which runs from 23-28 May, will receive unprecedented television coverage, with Channel 4 committing to a two hour live programme on 28 May plus a highlights package – including athletics coverage – on Friday 27 May.

Live daily streaming from each sport will also be broadcast on the Channel 4 website: www.channel4.com/paralympics