Disability Sport Wales
Chwaraeon Anabledd Cymru

DAVID ROBERTS AMONGST GB SWIMMERS ANNOUNCED TO COMPETE AT BT PARALYMPIC WORLD CUP

An impressive 16 British Paralympic swimmers, who between them brought home 29 medals from Beijing, have today confirmed they will compete in next month’s BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

Double Paralympic gold medallist Eleanor Simmonds and eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist David Roberts are two headline stars to have confirmed their attendance at the first international meet since the Paralympics last year.

Competing in Manchester along with Eleanor Simmonds (Walsall) and David Roberts (Pontypridd) will be Heather Frederiksen (Wigan), Natalie Jones (Colchester), Charlotte Henshaw (Mansfield), Rachel Latham (Wigan), Louise Watkin (Surrey), Stephanie Millward (Chippenham), Rhiannon Henry (Bridgend), James Anderson (St Andrews), Matthew Whorwood (Newquay), Matthew Walker (Stockport), Jonathan Fox (Cornwall), Sam Hynd (Mansfield), Sean Fraser (Edinburgh) and Robert Welbourn (Chesterfield).

Both Simmonds and Frederiksen have since broken world records in the S6 and S8 400m freestyle respectively at the British Gas Swimming Championships in March and Swansea-based Simmonds can’t wait for another chance to compete internationally next month.

The 14-year-old, who will be competing in the S6 100m freestyle said, “I’m really looking forward to competing at the BT Paralympic World Cup next month. I’ve done some cool things since Beijing but I’ve been training hard recently and it’ll be great to compete against some of the international girls again.

“I was amazed at the world record time I got at the National Championships and I’m really pleased, I’m in good shape and excited about having the opportunity to compete at such a high profile event in front of a home crowd.”

At the opposite end of the age scale, David Roberts will be hoping that he gets a birthday gift money can’t buy as he competes in the S7 50m freestyle on his 29th birthday.

Roberts said, “Beijing was a fantastic experience, an unforgettable time in my life but I’m now on the start of a four year journey to London where I’m going to be greedy – I want to defend all of my titles! The BT Paralympic World Cup is a great start to that journey and I hope to be in winning form to celebrate my birthday on top of the medal podium!”

The athletes will compete in five different classes over the bank holiday Sunday and Monday.

Tim Reddish OBE, Chairman of ParalympicsGB and National Performance Director for British Disability Swimming said, “I’m delighted that so many of our swimmers will be competing in Manchester at the BT Paralympic World Cup. Our swimmers achieved some outstanding results, both in individual and team events, in Beijing and we know we have a strong squad. After a hard winter of training, I’m sure they are all looking forward to racing and testing themselves against international competition.”

The GB swimmers confirmed are:

Eleanor Simmonds S6 100m Freestyle
Heather Frederiksen S8 100m Backstroke
Natalie Jones S6 100m Freestyle
Charlotte Henshaw SB6 100m Breaststroke
Rachel Latham S8 100m Backstroke
Louise Watkin S9 100m Freestyle
Stephanie Millward S9 100m Freestyle
Rhiannon Henry S13 100m Butterfly
James Anderson S2 50m Backstroke
Matthew Whorwood SM6 200m Individual Medley
Dave Roberts S7 50m Freestyle
Matthew Walker S7 50m Freestyle
Jonathan Fox S7 50m Freestyle
Sam Hynd S8 400m Freestyle
Sean Fraser S8 400m Freestyle
Robert Welbourn SM10 200m Individual Medley

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the first major multi-sport elite disability event to be staged since the Beijing Paralympic Games and major international stars and a strong British contingent are expected.
The competition will be staged in Manchester from 20-25 May, with over 400 competitors from over 31 countries scheduled to compete.

Athletes will compete in four sports at world class competition venues in Manchester: wheelchair basketball and athletics hosted at the Manchester Regional Arena, swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre and track cycling at the Manchester Velodrome.

Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup are now on sale and can be purchased via the event website: www.btparalympicworldcup.com or the ParalympicsGB website: www.paralympics.org.uk or by calling 0844 8471622. Tickets cost £3 per session.

BT is the title sponsor of the Paralympic World Cup; the sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.

The official 2009 stakeholders of the BT Paralympic World Cup are the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Manchester City Council and UK Sport.

The BT Paralympic World Cup is held in association with ParalympicsGB and sanctioned by the IPC, the UCI and the IWBF.

The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will broadcast live from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 25 May 2009 on BBC Television.

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