The Great Britain team to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics has been confirmed, with a record number of female athletes selected among the 227-member group.
ParalympicsGB will compete in 19 of the 22 sports in Tokyo. With 100 female athletes, the team will have a representation of 44%, a record for a summer Games and up from 40% at Rio 2016.
Of the athletes named, 143 have competed at previous Games including the 14-time gold medal winner Sarah Storey, who will be hoping in Tokyo to become the most successful Paralympian in British history. She will be joined by other returning stars including David Weir, Jonnie Peacock, Ellie Simmonds and Hannah Cockroft.
The youngest athlete in the team will be the 17-year-old swimmer Ellie Challis while the archer John Stubbs will be the oldest member at 56.
Penny Briscoe, the chef de mission of ParalympicsGB, said the record female representation was “a milestone we should all be incredibly proud of” and that an “incredibly talented” GB team would be highly competitive in Tokyo.
“It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be chef de mission at Tokyo 2020 and I feel very confident that this will be a highly competitive ParalympicsGB team that will inspire the nation once again,” Briscoe said. “I am sure there will be many memorable moments to celebrate as the media spotlight shines once again on our incredible and inspirational athletes.”
After a breakthrough success at London 2012, when the team won 120 medals in front of sell-out home crowds, ParalympicsGB exceeded that performance in Rio. A total of 147 medals won, including 64 gold, meant GB finished second in the overall medal table.
The Tokyo Games were suspended last year and organisers confirmed this week that there will be no spectators allowed into events because of the ongoing threat of Covid-19.
“It has been a monumental effort from athletes and their support teams to get to this stage”, Briscoe said. “I want to take this opportunity to recognise their individual and collective resilience and dedication to continue preparing for the Games during these unprecedented times.”
The opening ceremony of the Games will take place on Tuesday 24 August. Twelve days of competition across 19 venues will follow before the closing ceremony on 5 September.
