Special Olympics GB announce squad for European Summer Games

Special Olympics Great Britain has announced a squad of 48 athletes to represent the country at the Special Olympics European Summer Games in Belgium this September.

The Special Olympics European Summer Games run from September 13-20 in Antwerp and is the European showpiece event for Special Olympics – held every four years for the organisation and its athletes. More than 2,000 athletes with learning disabilities from 58 countries will take part in 10 sports events: athletics, artistic gymnastics, football, bocce, badminton, unified basketball, cycling, judo, table tennis and swimming.

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 CEO, Karen Wallin, said: “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)

North West

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)

South East

Holly Tadman – Judo (St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex)
Thomas Farley – Judo (Peasmarsh, Nr. Rye, East Sussex)

South West

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)

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)