Eleanor Simmonds selected for European Championships

The British Disability Swimming Team, powered by British Gas, has been announced to face Europe’s elite at the IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin.

The 43-strong British contingent includes double Paralympic Champion and DSA Patron Eleanor Simmonds, multi-Paralympic medallist Sascha Kindred and world record holder Jonathan Fox.

The IPC Swimming European Championships, which runs from 3rd – 10th July, will be the last benchmark meet for the athletes before the 2012 Paralmpic Games. All the Brits will be looking to put a marker down before competing in front of their home crowd just a year later.

National Performance Director John Atkinson, who has been in charge of the programme for just under a year, believes his athletes have what it takes to impress in Berlin.

“The selection policy has allowed us to take a strong team of athletes that have the potential to improve on their times from Sheffield and make a mark in Berlin,” Atkinson said.

“The blend of experience and previous medallists together with youth is good for the future development of the team. This is the last benchmark meet before the London Paralympics and it will be good to see what our athletes have just a year away from the Games.

“For any team the aim is to improve from the trial event to the major meet of the year. I believe that if the swimmers work hard in their training and achieve improvements then they will put themselves in a good place for success at the European Championships.”