8 Welsh athletes named in GB Team for IWAS World Junior Championships
Wales IPC Juniors
IPC Athletics World Championships bronze medallists Aled-Sion Davies & Kyron Duke (coach: Anthony Hughes) head up a 25-strong Aviva GB&NI team for the IWAS World Junior Championships in Dubai, UAE from 14-21 April 2011.Two time defending World Junior Champions Davies is among 8 Welsh Athletes selected for the Championships, making up 32% of the squad.
World Championships (senior) individual bronze medallists Jenny McLoughlin (coach: Darrell Maynard), Aled Davies, Kyron Duke (all coached by Anthony Hughes) add valuable experience to the squad of under-23 athletes. The trio are joined by wheelchair racer Dan Lucker (coach: Jenny Archer) who dominated in the T54 category 12 months ago to win a total of 6 medals, including five gold, as well as double Junior World Champion Owain Taylor (coach: Anthony Hughes).
All 8 athletes have, or still are members of the highly acclaimed Disability Sport Wales Academy programme, while the lead coach, Anthony Hughes (Performance Manager for Disability Sport Wales) has 8 athletes from his stable in the squad 6 Welsh, and two Cardiff based athletes (Hollie Arnold and Vicky Silk) who have relocated to be under his tutelage. The Welsh athletes also included are Josh Morgan, whilst Ashleigh Hellyer and Josh Clark will get their first GB vest at this event (all coached by Anthony Hughes).
Executive Director Disability Sport Wales Jon Morgan said: “Following the successful Senior World Championships where Welsh athletes contributed18% towards the GB total (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze), it goes to show that ‘the future’s bright… the future’s Welsh’ to take our Performance Managers comments after the success in New Zealand. To have 8 Welsh athletes, along with another 2 Cardiff-based athletes, to a squad of 25 is phenomenal. The Academy programme that has been officially in place since 2006 main focus has always been to provide athletes to GB squads is coming to more fruition as we get closer to London 2012.
With support of the Welsh Assembly Government and Sport Wales, as well as corporate sponsors, we ensure that any talented athlete with a disability has the opportunity to progress along their appropriate performance pathway. The ultimate goal being Paralympic Games, Global Games (Intellectual Disability) and Deaflympics. The athletics programme has been highly successful over the years, and the conveyor belt of talent being produced will ensure future success at London 2012, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Rio 2016 and beyond.
With 40% of the team from Wales (32% being welsh athletes) sends a great message that our system works, and we look forward to them bring back a sack full of medals”.
Aviva GB&NI Team Leader Paula Dunn, said: “We had a hugely successful World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic last year winning a total of 43 medals, and I’m confident we can exceed that figure in Dubai.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve been able to select a talented – and in many cases experienced – junior team that includes nine athletes who competed at senior level in January’s IPC World Championships.
“A combination of factors have contributed to our ongoing progress in world disability sport, not least our increased professionalism and attention to detail. We’ve developed a high quality UKA Disability Athletics Challenge Series and a number of Aviva Parallel Success events domestically, while in addition, and thanks to National Lottery funding and our ongoing support from Aviva, our athletes have increased opportunities to train and compete overseas.”
AVIVA GB&NI TEAM
* Ola Abidogun (Steven Thomas): T46 100m/200m
* Jonathan Adams (Malcolm Wallace): F34 Discus/Shot Putt
* Hollie Arnold (Anthony Hughes): F46 Javelin
* Joshua Bain (Paul Welch): F37 Discus/Shot Putt
* Sally Brown (Philip Tweedy): T46 100m/200m
* Sean Clare (Shelley Holroyd): F40 Discus/Shot Putt
* Joshua Clark (Anthony Hughes): F37 Shot Putt
* Hannah Cockroft (Peter Eriksson): T34 100m/200m/400m/800m/1500m
* Aled Davies (Anthony Hughes): F44 Discus/Shot Putt
* Kyron Duke (Anthony Hughes): F40 Discus/Javelin/Shot Putt
* Thomas Green (Ken Green): F32 Discus/Club Throw
* Ashleigh Hellyer (Anthony Hughes): F32 Shot Putt
* Matthew Hickling (Paul Moseley):T34 100, 200m 400m
* Daniel Lucker (Jenny Archer): T54 100m/200m/400m/800m/1500m/5000m
* Jenny McLoughlin (Darrell Maynard): T37 100m/200m
* Dean Miller (Bud Baldaro): T38 800m/1500m
* Scott Moorhouse (Shelley Holroyd): F42 Javelin
* Joshua Morgan (Anthony Hughes): F46 Shot Putt/Discus
* Holly Neill (Andrew Roda): F40 Shot Putt/Discus
* Vicky Silk (Anthony Hughes): F40 Shot Putt/Discus
* William Smith (Jenny Archer): T54 100m/200m/400m/800m
* Louis Speight (Rick Hoskins): T34 100m/200m/400m
* Owain Taylor (Anthony Hughes): F57 Shot Putt/Discus
* Kieran Tscherniawsky (Jim Edwards): F33 Discus
* Shannon Wallace (Mikail Huggins): T35 100m
