Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
All out for gold & glory
WORLD PARA ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
C4, 7.30pm
GREAT Britain boasts a brilliant team of paralympic athletes, and this meeting looks set to return us to the glorious spirit of the summer of 2012.
Sure, the Olympic Stadium is now called the London Stadium. And it all looks a bit different since West Ham United moved in. But the claret and blue branding has been (thankfully) removed for the 10 days of action, and tickets are being snapped up.
Over 250,000 tickets have already been sold, although organisers are busy pushing sales for fear that the massive stadium will still not be full. Wonderfully though, London emergency services staff are being offered free tickets as a thank you for their dedication.
There are 1,300 athletes – 49 of whom are Brits – from 100 countries taking part. They will compete in various classifications depending on the severity of their disability.
So who do we need to watch out for? Wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft competes tonight in the T34 100m, where she is the current world record holder. And Jo Butterfield defends her title in the club throw – the equivalent of the hammer.
Later on in the competition, all eyes will be on sprinter Jonnie Peacock, as well as the British debut from sprinter and jumper Zak Skinner.
And we will watch in awe as the likes of Marlou van Rhijn, from the Netherlands – dubbed the ‘Blade Babe’ – takes to the track, as well as 15-year-old South African sensation Ntando Mahlangu. The double leg amputee ran his way to a silver in Rio last year.
Ade Adepitan, Sophie Morgan and Lee Mckenzie host coverage, along with David Weir, Danny Crates and Sophie Morgan. With a team packed full of champs, here’s hoping for a haul of medals for 2017.