PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Maria Lyle at Swansea 2014

British Athletics’ World Class Performance Programme gives extra funding and support to athletes with medal potential on the road to the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Nadiia and Ivan Sivak Tokyo 2013

The Ukrainian husband and wife team will enter separately into two new events at the 2014 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships.

USA athlete leaning forward in his wheelchair on the track at London 2012

The USA’s Joshua George, a Paralympic athletics champion, has teamed up with Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felix to help bring sport to under-privileged communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Shingo Kunieda

In total, 271 athletes have qualified for Rio, with five more slots secured at the Incheon 2014 Asian Para-Games.

Members of the Brazilian team singing their national anthem during the victory ceremony

The three-time Paralympic champions have not lost a major competition for seven years and are determined to add a fourth Paralympic title at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

An Agitos installed within the Sochi 2014 Olympic Park

Sochi, the host city for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, will continue its legacy by hosting the 2015 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games

Skiing man curving around some slalom poles

Skiers Adam Hall and Corey Peters and snowboarder Carl Murphy are departing for the northern hemisphere in preparation for World Championships.

Stephane Houdet

France’s Stephane Houdet hopes for a hat trick, and Japan’s Yui Kamiji and Great Britain’s Jordanne Whiley, and the USA’s Nick Taylor and David Wagner will be looking to retain their titles

Two dancers in wheelchairs posing during a performance

As wheelchair basketball players, the Austrian pairing of Werner Kaiser and Brigitte Kroell have been perfecting more graceful moves than they are used to ahead of the IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships.

Anna Schaffelhuber at the IPC Alpine World Cup in Panorama, Canada

The group responsible for developing IPC Alpine Skiing, including para-snowboard will be led by Markus Walser for another four years.