Azerbaijan to Hold Training Camp in Stoke Mandeville
18.04.2012Twenty-three athletes in Athletics, Judo, Archery and Powerlifting will prepare for the Games at Azerbaijan’s training camp.
Ilham Zakiev (AZE) wins Gold in the Judo +100kg Final match against Song Wang (CHN) at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
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“We are really looking forward to the arrival of the Azerbaijan team and are confident they will enjoy training with us."
The National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan will send 23 athletes and 10 officials to to Stoke Mandeville Stadium in May and June for a training camp in preparation for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Azerbaijan made its Paralympics Games debut at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympics and has won a total of 15 Paralympic medals to date. The Azerbaijan athletes will train in four different sports including Athletics, Judo, Archery and Powerlifting during their time at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
Ilham Zakiyev is the most successful Paralympic athlete to come out of the country, having won gold in the men’s 100kg+ Judo competition at both the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games.
Ian Seabrook, Business Development Manager at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, said: “We are really looking forward to the arrival of the Azerbaijan team and are confident they will enjoy training with us due to the fact we have some of the best facilities in the UK. The Saudi Powerlifting Team, the Finnish Athletics team, Wheelchair Rugby Squads and the Icelandic Athletics and Swimmers have all trained at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.”
Ramin Kasamanski from NPC Azerbaijan said: “We are so pleased that our athletes are able to train at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, given the high level of equipment and quality service, I think they will find this time extremely beneficial to their Paralympics preparations.”
