Imperial gets into Paralympic spirit

The Imperial community gets ready to cheer on some of the Paralympic athletes with a connection to the College

As global attention returns to London for the Paralympic Games, the Imperial community will be watching to show its support for some of the athletes with a connection to the College.

Imperial alumnus Alexandra Rickham (Environmental Policy 2006) will be representing ParalympicsGB in a two-person keelboat with team mate Niki Birrell. The team made their Paralympic debut at Beijing in 2008 and, having won three world titles in a row for SKUD 18 (a Skiff of Universal Design that can be sailed by people of all levels of physical ability), are aiming for gold in London 2012. Alexandra, who became a tetraplegic following a diving accident in Jamaica in 1995, said she hopes that the Imperial community will come out to support the athletes, adding “To have the Games here in London is amazing. This will be the biggest Paralympics in years, and we’re bringing it home.”

 

Team Birrell Rickham out sailing

Meanwhile participants from the Rio Tinto Sports Innovation Challenge will be cheering on some of the athletes they met while researching their projects, which looked at designs to help expand the ways people with disabilities can engage in sport.  As part of the Challenge the student engineers spoke to Paralympians including gold medal-winning cyclist Sarah Storey, who will be taking part again this year.

Swimmer Ellie Simmonds will also have support from the Sport Imperial team, who welcomed her during training sessions at the Ethos pool,   while staff and students with tickets will be reviewing the Games they watch on the College website.

Look out for reviews of the Paralympic Games on the College website from staff and students attending events.

Read stories on Imperial's involvement in the Olympic Games.