Seven athletes from Kent have been chosen to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
The announcement comes just 100 days to go to the Paralympics, with seven confirmed Paralympians so far:
•Will Bayley from Tunbridge Wells – Table tennis
•Ross Wilson from Swale – Table tennis
•Ben Quilter from Dartford – Judo
•Joe Ingram from Dartford – Judo
•Brothers Marc and Dan Powell from Dartford – Judo
•Steve Brown from Sittingbourne – Wheelchair rugby
All together, there are four members of the Kent Crusaders Wheelchair rugby team who have been picked to represent Great Britain. Along with Steve Brown from Sittingbourne who has been named captain for the team, the other three are Kylie Grimes, Bulbul Hussain and Andy Barrow, who live outside Kent but come to Medway to train.
KCC Cabinet member for Customer and Communities Mike Hill said: “There is some really outstanding sporting talent in Kent and on this important milestone ahead of the Paralympics; I wish all those selected to compete, my sincere congratulations. They will make the whole county and indeed country proud.”
To develop disability sport, Kent is now the only local authority to have a disability sport associate officer for every Paralympic sport. The job of the 19 men and women is to champion and develop their sport, increase awareness and help improve accessibility to encourage people to take part.
The officers are also top names in their sport and include:
•Emma Kent (equestrian) who is a world class dressage rider from Dartford.
•Tom Middleton has championed Sitting Volleyball and worked tirelessly to bring together a team for London 2012. As a result, Kent has one of the country’s only purpose built courts at Canterbury High School. Kent also hosts the International Sitting Volleyball Tournament.
•Nathan Milgate (shooting) – Nathan from Herne Bay is ranked number one in England and number 12 in the world.
•Steve Brown (wheelchair rugby) (see above).
•Will Bayley from Tunbridge Wells is ranked number one in the world for disability table tennis. He competed at the Beijing Games and now looks forward to taking part in London 2012.
Today (Monday 21 May) also marks the day when the final tickets go back on sale for the Paralympic competitions, including the Road Cycling taking place at Brands Hatch on 5-8 September. Tickets are available from www.tickets.london2012.com.
During the week, more than 220 athletes from 50 countries will compete in time trials, road races and team relays around the Brands Hatch circuit and on the local roads.
The event is expected to attract around 10,000 spectators every day, inside the circuit and watching along the public roads.