Who to watch and when as London 2017 World Para-Athletics Champs begin
The IPC World Para-Athletics Championships get under way at London’s Olympic Stadium today with three University of Bath-based athletes ready to roared on by the home crowd.
More than 1,000 athletes will compete at the championships in total, making it the biggest sporting event in England since the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Paul Blake, coached at the Sports Training Village by Rob Ellchuk, won two medals at those Games and memorably added T36 400m gold to his collection at Rio 2016 last summer.
He will not be defending the 800m title he has won at the last two World Championships but has a busy week ahead as he races in the T36 100m (heats and final on Saturday 22nd), T36 200m (heats on Sunday 16th, final on Monday 17th) and T36 400m (final on July 21). Blake previously won 400m gold at the 2011 World Championships.
Ready to roll for Sundays 200m heat 😊 pic.twitter.com/vidWAik1NT
— paul blake (@wizards_1) July 13, 2017
Training partner Sophie Kamlish will be racing in the T44 100m, with the heats and final both taking place on Monday 17th. After breaking the world record at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and setting the second-fastest time in the world this year, she has her eyes on gold going into the event.
Polly Maton, coached by Colin Baross, will compete in both the T47 100m (heats and final on Monday 17th) and the T47 long Jump (final on July 23rd). The 16-year-old made her World Championships debut in 2015 and, having gained more valuable experience at Rio 2016, will be looking to move closer to a podium finish.
The World Para-Athletics Championships will be televised live on Channel 4.
Timetable by day
Sunday 16th
11.10am – T36 200m heats (Paul Blake)
Monday 17th
12.28pm – T44 100m heats (Sophie Kamlish)
8.20pm – T44 100m final (Sophie Kamlish)
8.30pm – T36 200m final (Paul Blake)
Tuesday 18th
8.55pm – T47 100m final (Polly Maton)
Friday 21st
8.03pm – T36 400m final (Paul Blake)
Saturday 22nd
12.20pm – T36 100m heats (Paul Blake)
8.10pm – T36 100m final (Paul Blake)
Sunday 23rd
10.42am – T47 long jump final (Polly Maton)
