IWAS World Junior Games GB team announced
WheelPower has announced the full GB team for the IWAS World Junior Games. A British team of 38 will compete across four sports from 3 to 7 August 2014 August at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
Many of the GB team first found sport at Stoke Mandeville and will be delighted to return to the birthplace of the Paralympic movement for this world junior event.
Chloe Ball, 18, from Wotton-Under-Edge first found archery at WheelPower’s Junior Sports Camp and spent last summer competing in Bangkok and Czech Republic for the GB Paralympic Podium Potential Squad. She said:
“Stoke Mandeville was where I really got the bug for sport. So it only seems right to come back there to represent my country in the sport I love. It is really great that WheelPower are able to be involved with the event too. I hope it will help continue to inspire a generation of young disabled athletes to pursue their goals.”
Fresh from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Meggan Dawson-Farrell and Lauren Rowles will line up in the T54 400m, 800m and 1500m, while Will Smith will race in the mens 800m and 5000m.
The junior track athletes will take inspiration from Paralympic and World Champion Hannah Cockroft, who won two gold and two silver medals at the IWAS World Junior Championships in 2011.
The World Junior Games will welcome 300 young disabled athletes from 32 countries. They will compete in seven sports: archery, athletics and race running, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair fencing. Para-Taekwondo will be included as an exhibition sport.
GB Chef de Mission and WheelPower’s Inclusive Sport Advisor Steve Snelling said:
“The IWAS World Junior Games are a great opportunity for developing athletes to experience the demands of international competition amongst some of the world’s best young athletes. WheelPower are delighted to support the team on their road to sporting success. The team were selected on their potential, and for many the IWAS World Junior Games could prove to be a crucial step on their journey to Paralympic glory at Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020”
