Trio ready for World Championships
A trio of University of Bath-based athletes are preparing to compete at the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in New Zealand, which gets underway tomorrow (Friday).
Ben Rushgrove, Katrina Hart and Paul Blake are all members of the British team competing at Christchurch.
University of Bath Sports Performance student Hart will be the first of the trio to go into action when she competes in the T37 200m heats on Saturday (22 January). The final is the following day. Hart also competes in the T37 100m, the event in which she won gold for England at the Commonwealth Games three months ago.
Rushgrove, a University of Bath Sports Performance graduate and 2009 Sports Personality of the Year, contests the T36 100m and 200. He gets his campaign underway in the 100m heats on Sunday. Rushgrove won silver over 100m at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and bronze in the 200m at the last World Championships in the Netherlands in 2006.
Blake, who has just turned 20 and is competing at his first overseas event, contests the T36 400m, 800m and 1500m. His first event is the 1500m on Sunday, which is a straight final.
Rob Ellchuk coaches the trio at the University of Bath, where he is a research student and tutor, is a member of the British coaching team in New Zealand. He said: “They will all be in the mix for gold medals. If they run personal bests, that’s great, but winning medals is more important here.”
The opening ceremony of the championships take place tomorrow (Friday) and they conclude on 30 January.
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