The 49-strong Great Britain team for the upcoming Special Olympics European Summer Games in Belgium has been announced.
At the Games, which will be held in Antwerp from September 13-20, more than 2,000 athletes with learning disabilities from 58 European countries will take part in 10 sports: athletics, artistic gymnastics, football, bocce, badminton, unified basketball, cycling, judo, table tennis and swimming.
The Summer Games is the European showpiece event for Special Olympics – held every 4 years for the organisation and its athletes.
The day before the Special Olympics Great Britain team departs on September 8 a large number of the team will be hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron at a Downing Street reception, followed by an event at the Embassy of Belgium later that evening.
Minister for Sport, Helen Grant, said: “Congratulations to all those who have been selected to represent Special Olympics GB at the Special Olympics European Summer Games in Belgium. It will be a very proud moment for all the athletes to represent their country and I wish them all the best with their preparations before the Games begin in September.”
Special Olympics GB’s CEO, Karen Wallin, also congratulated the athletes on their selection, adding: “We are proud of each and every athlete and we know they will strive to be the very best they can. They will all try to bring home medals but, just as importantly, build new friendships and gain memories that will last a lifetime.”
The full Special Olympics GB team is as follows:
Dumfries and Galloway
Emma Birley – Aquatics (Castlemilk, Lockerbie)
Samuel Pattinson – Aquatics (Gretna, Dumfriesshire)
East Midlands
Adam Meanwell – Aquatics (Grantham, Lincolnshire)
Eastern
Charles Culwick – Aquatics (Hawkwell, Essex)
Kieran Neary – Aquatics (Benfleet, Essex)
Scott Cleaver – Aquatics (Canvey Island, Essex)
Rosemary Hollingsworth – Cycling (Shefford, Bedfordshire)
Forth Valley
Niall Finlayson – Athletics (Cambusbarron, Stirling)
Grampian
John Kane – Judo (Peterhead, Aberdeenshire)
Zoe Kane – Judo (Peterhead, Aberdeenshire)
Northwest
Catherine Carson – Badminton (Hawkley, Wigan)
Mark Goulder – Badminton (Banks, Southport)
Samantha Monk – Badminton (Shevington, Wigan)
Jennifer Turner – Table tennis (Wem, Shropshire)
Jeffrey Jarvis – Table tennis (Trains in Cheshire and lives in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire)
Scotland West
Jennifer Power – Athletics (Glasgow)
Linzi Finnigan – Athletics (Croftfoot, Glasgow)
David Jackson – Cycling (Glasgow)
Gary Winslow – Cycling (Clydebank, Glasgow)
Leanne Peters – Cycling (Blanefield, Glasgow)
Ruairidh Brown – Cycling (North Allerton, East Kilbridge)
David Rae – Gymnastics (Thornlie Bank, Glasgow)
Georgia Carslaw – Gymnastics (Castlemilk, Glasgow)
Ramsay Meiklem – Gymnastics (Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Paisley)
Southeast
Holly Tadman – Judo (St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex)
Thomas Farley – Judo (Peasmarsh, nr. Rye, East Sussex)
Southwest
Daniel Weston – Cycling (Newport, Barnstaple, Devon)
Daniel Amel-Azizpour – Judo (Bradley Stoke, Bristol)
Southern
Aaron Bonnar – Gymnastics (St Saviour, Jersey)
Alex Buesnel – Gymnastics (St Saviour, Jersey)
Cailiegh Quail – Gymnastics (St Helier, Jersey)
Chloe Russell – Gymnastics (St Helier, Jersey)
James Lang – Gymnastics (St Helier, Jersey)
Jessica Vieira – Gymnastics (St Saviour, Jersey)
Alistair Feltham – Table tennis (Winton, Bournemouth)
Duncan Feltham – Table tennis (Winton, Bournemouth)
Tayside
Ann-Marie Reid – Aquatics (Dundee)
Dylan Thorburn – Aquatics (Tayport, Fife)
Maria Orsi – Aquatics (Arbroath)
George Gibson – Table tennis (Montrose, Angus)
Kerry Duncan – Badminton (Arbroath)
Wales
Jacqueline Minchin – Aquatics (Ceredigion)
West Midlands
Alicia Bradshaw – Athletics (Wagey, Worcestershire)
Gary Starkey – Athletics (Hoarwithy, Herefordshire)
Emma Hunt – Table tennis (Bushbury, Wolverhampton)
Fleur O’ Donohue – Athletics (Nuneaton, Warwickshire)
Yorkshire and Humberside
Natalie Moon – Aquatics (Kingston upon Hull)
Edward Williams – Athletics (Leeds, Yorkshire)
Nicholas Mann – Athletics (Norton, Sheffield)
