New Zealand name squad for swimming World Champs
21.05.2013London medallists and world record holders head up team
New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe competes in the women’s 100m breaststroke final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
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“We are very excited about this team as we believe we have a great depth of experience and enthusiasm.”
Paralympics New Zealand has announced their team for the IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Canada from 12-18 August.
Six of the seven strong team had outstanding performances at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, making this one of the strongest teams New Zealand has ever sent to a World Championships.
The team is headlined by multi-medal winners and world record holders Sophie Pascoe and Mary Fisher. Pascoe won three golds in London in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly S10 and 200m individual medley SM10 as well as three silver medals.
Fisher bought home one gold, two silvers and one bronze in her S11 and SM11 events at the Aquatics Centre.
They are joined by Paralympic gold medallist Cameron Leslie and silver medallist Daniel Sharp. Paralympians Nikita Howarth - New Zealand’s youngest ever Paralympian - and Daniel Holt have high hopes of building on their London performances.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his team mates is newcomer Jesse Reynolds. At just 16 years of age Jesse is looking to gain invaluable experience in Montreal.
The team will be lead by new Head Swim Performance Coach, Jon Shaw. Shaw started in his role on 20 May.
He says “We are very excited about this team as we believe we have a great depth of experience and enthusiasm.”
“This event will provide a great testing ground to see where our performances sit on the international stage. We believe we have a high chance of success following on from the results at the New Zealand Swimming Championships.”
Full team list:
Cameron Leslie
Daniel Holt
Daniel Sharp
Jesse Reynolds
Nikita Howarth
Australia, the USA, Great Britain and hosts Canada have also recently announced their team sheets.
The IPC Swimming World Championships will be held in Montreal, Canada from 12-18 August 2013 featuring around 650 athletes from 60 countries, and will be the biggest gathering of international athletes since London 2012.
