Great Britain announce Montreal 2013 team

30.04.2013

Ellie Simmonds, Sascha Kindred and Josef Craig will be among the 32-strong British contingent at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships.

Ellie Simmonds won gold in the 200m individual medley SM6 at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. © • Getty Images

By British Swimming

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Great Britain's Sascha Kindred © • Simon Wilkinson

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“I think it will be a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to be part of the team again. I haven’t competed at a Worlds before so I just want to see what I can do over there."

Great Britain announced their team on Tuesday (30 April) for the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Canada.

The 32-strong contingent, which includes four-time Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds and 12-time Paralympic medallist Sascha Kindred, will take on the rest of the best in the world in Montreal from 12-18 August.

Simmonds was only 12 when she competed at her first World Championships in Durban, and now, at 18, she is returning for her third.

Teenager Amy Marren, who was one of the youngest athletes on the ParalympicsGB team last year, will compete at her first World Championships, having broken the S9 European record in the 200m individual medley on her way to qualifying at last weekend’s British International Disability Swimming Championships.

“It is amazing to be named on the team for my first World Championships,” 14-year old Marren told British Swimming.

“I think it will be a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to be part of the team again. I haven’t competed at a Worlds before so I just want to see what I can do over there.

“London helped teach me how to deal with my nerves and that now helps me to prepare for my races better. There are lots of other athletes with so much more experience and listening to their stories allows me to learn as much as I can.

“Last weekend was brilliant for me. I hit my PBs and achieved so much which was great. I love my swimming at the moment and I just want to go to Montreal and achieve all that I can.”

Kindred secured his name on the roster for his sixth World Championships and he will be joined by another 12-time Paralympic medallist Matt Walker who has secured his place at his fifth international competition.

“I am pretty excited to be able to compete alongside some of the world’s best again,” said 35-year old Kindred. “I didn’t have a great lead up to the trials and to achieve the time was a big relief. The qualification in Great Britain is always tough because of the level that we are at so I am pleased to be named on the team today.

“This is my sixth World Championships and I have medalled at the last five. I would love to medal again but I just want to go and do my best out there.

“The team has a great mix of youth and experience and it is always good to have an environment like that. The younger athletes are always pushing on the older ones and we can also share our experiences and knowledge to help support the younger swimmers.”

The meet will be the first competition where the Brits will be led by new National Performance Director Chris Furber, who takes up his new role on 13 May.

“I am really looking forward to working with this team,” Furber said. “Montreal will be my first swimming competition but I am excited to bring my experience to the team at the first major competition post London.

“The team is a relatively young one with nine athletes currently under 18-years of age. This is a good sign for future development of the team as we begin to build towards the Rio Paralympic Games.”

Great Britain’s complete roster includes:

Men

Jack Bridge

James Clegg

Josef Craig

James Crisp

Jonathan Fox

James Hollis

Oliver Hynd

Sam Hynd

Sascha Kindred

Aaron Moores