UK Paralympic sailors announced

Team includes first woman to be selected

The British Paralympic Association yesterday announced the first British athletes to be selected for the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. They are John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas, who will represent Great Britain in the Sonar sailing class.

Skipper Robertson, 32, has sailed with Stodel for four years and Thomas joined the crew a year ago.

The trio has already had considerable success, winning a bronze medal at the World Sailing Championships in Athens last September. They have just returned from a month's training in Florida.

Robertson, from Sunderland and a member of the Sunderland Yacht Club, believes the crew has a good chance of winning a medal at Athens.

"We went to Florida to work on our speed and tactics, and we've achieved everything we set out to," he said. "We've already put in a lot of graft and we will be well prepared when we get to Athens. By the time the Games come around we'll be on fire."

18-year-old Hannah Stodel becomes the first British woman selected to sail at a Paralympic Games. Stodel, from Colchester sailed with Robertson in a Sonar crew that finished ninth at the 2002 World Championships. "I'm pretty pleased we've made it," she said. "It has been quite a lot of hard work, but it has all been worthwhile. I'm confident we will do well in Athens. If you look at the training and the performances we've been putting in, we should really be looking to be in the medal zone."

Stephen Thomas, 27, is the newest recruit to the partnership. Thomas, from Bridgend, only took up sailing a year ago and fitted straight into the crew. He is also a keen sledge hockey player.

Phil Lane, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: "I'd like to congratulate John, Hannah and Stephen on their selection for Athens and wish them good luck for their preparations for the Paralympics and for the Games themselves."

Stephen Park, RYA Olympic Manager, commented: "Over the last year John, Hannah and Stephen have raised their game significantly and have taken Paralympic Sonar sailing in the UK to a new level. Their initial efforts have been rewarded with Paralympic selection and I am confident that, with continued application, they will be firmly in the medal zone in Athens this September."

Robertson's crew finished 11th at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January. The crew dropped down the leader board from fifth when Robertson missed the last day of racing through illness.

In February Robertson skippered the crew to fifth at the World Sonar Championships in Miami - an able-bodied event with the Sonar boats in a different configuration and with a crew of four. They were the second highest Paralympic crew taking part in the competition.

The Sonar class at the Paralympics uses a wide and heavily-ballasted 23ft keelboat, sailed by a crew of three.

A British crew of Andrew Cassell, Kevin Curtis and Anthony Downs took gold in the Sonar class when sailing appeared as a demonstration sport at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympics. But the Brits missed out on the medals when sailing made its first full appearance at the Paralympic Games at Sydney 2000.

The final sailing berth for the British squad for the Athens 2004 Paralympics is in the single-handed 2.4mR class. The contest to win that place is still wide open.

Great Britain finished second in the overall medal table at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games with an impressive haul of 131 medals - 41 golds, 43 silvers and 47 bronzes. The Athens Paralympics take place from 17-28 September.