Paralympics GB: Who to watch today
Para GB will field 74 athletes on the opening day of the Paralympic Games today, including five multiple Paralympic gold medal winners hoping to repeat their success in London.
Cycling and swimming will be the main medal prospects for Great Britain on the opening day of the Games with the likes of Darren Kenny, Sarah Storey and Nyree Kindred (pictured left) leading the charge.
The action starts at 9am with Great Britain & Northern Ireland competing in shooting, table tennis and goalball qualifying events.
And if they make their way through the qualifying rounds, Para GB’s athletes can potentially pick up medals today in shooting, cycling, powerlifting, swimming and judo.
In the swimming, Nyree Kindred and Rob Welbourn are amongst the Para GB athletes battling for a podium finish.
Kindred, who has cerebral palsy, won two gold medals at the Athens Paralympic Games and was also a silver medallist at Beijing. She will compete in the 100m backstroke under the S6 classification with the final at 5:38pm. Swimming categories from one to 10 cover physical impairments.
Well its almost here, the london 2012 paralympic games. Time for me to focus like never before. Thanks for all the support. See you soon
— nyree kindred (@nyreekindredGB) August 29, 2012
Welbourn, who has three fingers on his left hand and a slightly shorter arm, won gold at Beijing and Athens as a part of the 100m freestyle relay. He was a silver medallist in both years in the 400m freestyle in the S10 category. Today he will compete in the 200m medley under the S10 classification with the final taking place at 7:52pm.
In the cycling Darren Kenny and Sarah Storey, who have each won six gold medals in their Paralympic careers, are likely to take centre stage.
Kenny, who developed cerebral palsy after a cycling crash in 1988, won four gold medals in Beijing. He will be competing for a medal in the individual C1-2-3 1km time trial alongside Richard Waddon and Mark Colbourne. The final takes place at 2pm.
Storey, who was born without a left hand, will be hoping for gold in individual C5 pursuit, the final of which takes place at 4:31pm. She won two cycling golds at Beijing, and all her previous Paralympic gold medals have been in swimming.
Di Coates is another multi-gold medallist, and will be competing in the women’s R2-10m air rifle standing competition. She starts at 9am with the final taking place from midday.
Other athletes who are making their Paralympic debut and vying for medals today including powerlifter Zoe Newson (pictured right), swimmer Oliver Hynd and cyclist Crystal Lane.
You can read the full schedule for today’s Paralympic Games on Channel 4’s Paralympic site.
