SAILOR STEVE NAMED FOR BEIJING
Bridgend sailor Stephen Thomas has today been named by ParalympicsGB as part of the British squad for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
Nominated to compete by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Thomas will race as part of the three person keelboat, the Sonar, along with skipper John Robertson from Sunderland and Essex’s Hannah Stodel. This is the same crew that finished sixth in Athens in 2004 and that won World Championship golds in 2005 and 2006.
Thirty-one year-old Thomas, who now lives in Cardiff, is a talented multi-sport athlete who also represented Great Britain at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin as part of the Ice Sledge Hockey team that finished seventh.
He said: “It’s great to be selected, and I think we feel that we’re a lot more ready now than we were at the Games four years ago. As a team we’ve improved a lot, and have managed to win some major championships along the way, which will hopefully stand us in good stead.
“China’s a very interesting place – and a very different venue to get used to. We’ve had some good conditions when we’ve been out there, and there will probably a bit more wind in Qingdao in September than the Olympic team are likely to have in August.”
ParalympicsGB Chief Executive, Phil Lane, said: “It is fantastic to be able to name the British sailing squad for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
“With the SKUD class making its debut to the Games in September we are delighted to be taking a larger number of sailors to the Games to contend for more medals than ever before.
To be selected for a Paralympic Games is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career and an achievement that these athletes should be proud of. We wish them the best of luck over the next few months as they put in their final preparations for the Games.”
The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opens on September 6 and closes on September 17. The sailing events at the Games take place in Qingdao in West China at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre and will run from September 8 with finals scheduled for September 13.
At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games Britain finished second in the medal table with a total of 35 golds, 30 silver and 29 bronze medals. With competitive standards continually rising and the dominant Chinese team taking the home advantage ParalympicsGB recognises that the 2008 Paralympics will be one of its biggest challenges yet.
