Rio 2016: Paul Blake looking to upgrade on London silver in Friday afternoon final
Paul Blake will be going for gold on Friday afternoon as the University of Bath-based athlete gets his Rio 2016 Paralympic Games campaign up and running.
Blake – coached by Rob Ellchuk at the Sports Training Village – goes in the T36 400m final at 2.15pm BST, looking to upgrade on the silver medal he won in the event at the London 2012 Games and the 2013 and 2015 World Championships.
It starts a busy two days for Blake, who is also running in the T36 800 final – at 11.19pm BST on Saturday. He won bronze at London 2012 and is a double World Champion over that distance.
Training partner Sophie Kamlish is also competing on Saturday in the T43/T44 100m, with her heats scheduled for 4.24pm BST and the final at 12.31am BST on Sunday.
Also hoping to pick up a medal on Saturday is University of Bath Natural Sciences graduate Alexandra Rickham.
She and partner Niki Birrell currently sit in the bronze-medal position in the SKUD18 two-person keelboat class but level on points with second-placed John McRoberts and Jackie Gay of Canada.
Rickham and Birrell could only finish fourth and fifth in their races on Thursday and will be looking for an improvement in Friday’s races.
