Progress in Americas as Argentina to host first swimming Championships

Progress in Americas as Argentina to host World Intellectual Impairment Sport swimming Championships

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The International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) has announced that Santiago del Estero, Argentina, will host the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Open Swimming Championships (Americas).

The competition, which will run from 29 August – 2 September, will be the first regional event of its kind for athletes with intellectual impairments in any World Intellectual Impairment Sport sport in the Americas.

Around 160 athletes from 10 countries will gather at the newly built Madre de Ciudades swimming pool.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport President Marc Truffaut said: “These Championships represent a huge step forward in the development of our swimming programme and is something we are working towards in other sports. With a solid World Championships programme in place, athletes now have another high-level competition to train for.

“It will help the development of the sport in the Americas, meeting our commitment to build our regional event programme. It will also help to improve the capacity of competition organisers, reflecting the fact that swimming is one of World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ biggest and most popular sports.

“The Local Organising Committee have shown a great commitment to hosting a successful event. Not only do they want to deliver a fantastic competition, they also want to focus on the bigger picture including promotional activities and the overall athlete experience. I am sure it will set the standard for the future.”

A word from the organisers

Santiago del Estero 2018 is being organised by the Argentina Federation for Sports for People with Intellectual Impairments (FADDIM). They will work with the national swimming federation on delivery of the competition. World Intellectual Impairment Sport have also applied for the competition to be recognised by World Para Swimming and for their classifiers to attend.

“FADDIM is getting prepared for an historic moment, when we will welcome great figures from the world of World Intellectual Impairment Sport swimming.  This will also be our first international swimming tournament,” Professor Franco Petta, President of FADDIM, said.

“We are taking huge pride in being able to organise such an important event, and above all, know the great responsibility when receiving young elite athletes who we hope achieve enriching experiences and can gain and share the values ​​of sport and life.

“We hope that this event will be also a great tool to raise awareness of the potential of people with intellectual impairments.

“We expect to receive here many countries from all over the world, from different religions and races. This will allow us to demonstrate once again, that the World Intellectual Impairment Sport movement is a great boost towards the inclusion of our athletes.

“This celebration of sport is a great dream of all the Argentines and we are sure that Argentina can be recognised by the world.

“I personally would like to thank those who are making a great effort to come along with us on our journey.”

Santiago del Estero 2018 will be one of the last major events ahead of the 2019 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games in Brisbane, Australia. The Games are the world’s biggest gathering of elite athletes with intellectual impairments and will be a major step on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

First wave of #SportChampions announced to celebrate International Women’s Day

First wave of #SportChampions announced to celebrate International Women’s Day

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To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, the International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) has announced the first athlete and administrator #SportChampions who will take part in its #WeAreSport project in 2018.

Through the programme, World Intellectual Impairment Sport aims to help female athletes to use social and other media to show their life as a high performance sportsperson. This will make them more visible and raise their profile so that they can become role models for the next generation.

In addition, the project will train administrators from World Intellectual Impairment Sport members in how to develop pathways to get more women and girls with intellectual impairments into sport.

So far South Korea, Argentina, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ecuador and Australia have officially signed up. The athletes nominated are some the brightest young stars from each country including Paralympians and World Intellectual Impairment Sport world champions.

Egypt, the USA, South Africa, France, Thailand, India and Sweden have also expressed an interest in taking part, and are going through the nomination process.

Applications are still open as World Intellectual Impairment Sport aims to recruit 20 athletes and the same number of administrators in total.

London 2012 Paralympic champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist Jessica-Jane Applegate will be the face of #WeAreSport.

As one of the world’s best swimmers, the 21-year-old is a great example of how female athletes can use social media to promote themselves. With nearly 50,000 followers across platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, Applegate shares updates about her training and competitions and regularly engages with her fans.

Describing some of the challenges in sport for athletes with intellectual impairments, Applegate said:

“Getting into sport is easy but staying in sport is really hard. Anyone can turn up to a session and give it a go but what I found difficult was that I looked the same as everyone else so everyone else expected so much more from me.

“I couldn’t understand lots of the instructions and couldn’t communicate back how or what I didn’t understand. It takes me a lot longer to learn new things and unless you have support from your coaches and club members it’s a huge stress and struggle.

“Many clubs and coaches are trained now to support children just like me and it’s really important that we all have that equal opportunity to join in. There are not enough learning disabled girls in sports so there’s a huge gap in the competitions.

“I would love to see more girls competing and am happy to help any of them.”

Robyn Smith, World Intellectual Impairment Sport Vice President, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome the first athletes and administrators who will take part in #WeAreSport. It is so important that we give both groups the tools to develop themselves and sport for women and girls in their countries.

“Jessica-Jane has perfectly described some of the issues faced by countries in developing their programmes. This includes barriers unique to areas of sport for athletes with intellectual impairments, such as a lack of understanding around their needs. We also need more role models to inspire the next generation.

“The project aims to start to address the gender imbalance that exists across the world, both at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport and Paralympic level. In turn that will increase the depth of field at competitions and make our sports more competitive all-round.

“We know that it can be a challenge for countries to find ways of including athletes with intellectual impairments and for athletes to promote themselves. But these are obstacles worth overcoming and ones that we are firmly aiming to address.”

The first activities for #WeAreSport will take place in June 2018 including a training webinar for the athletes and administrators. Each athlete will also receive a specially designed media pack containing their biography, pictures and graphics they can share on social media.

The administrators will be given materials and guidance to help them attract female athletes to try sports. As part of their commitment they will deliver at least one development workshop in their country for women and girls.

The project is mainly focused on Asia, Oceania and Africa but athletes and personnel from other regions will also be included.

Activities will climax on the 2018 International Day of Sport for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments on 20 September.

#WeAreSport is supported by a grant from the Agitos Foundation, the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee. It is co-funded by Sport Inclusion Australia.

Confirmed athlete #SportChampions

Athlete Eligibility group Country Age Sport Career highlights
Moi Yan Ting Danielle II1/S14 Singapore 19 Swimming 2017 Asian Youth Para Games medallist (silver 100m butterfly, bronze 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle)
Melanie Fernandez II1/T20 Argentina 15 Athletics Participation in World Para Athletics Junior Championships
Jade Lucy II1/S14 Australia 21 Swimming World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games champion (100m, 400m, 800m, freestyle) and World Intellectual Impairment Sport world champion (200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle)
Poleth Mendes II1/F20 Ecuador 22 Athletics Paralympian and silver medallist in shot put F20 at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships
Yang Hee Seo

 

 II1/class 11 South Korea 31 Table tennis 2014 Asian Para Games (bronze women’s singles)
Caitlyn Sharp II1 Australia 15 Athletics World Intellectual Impairment Sport world champion (high jump)
Wong Pui Kei II1/class 11 Hong Kong 20 Table tennis 2017 World Intellectual Impairment Sport World Table Tennis Championships (silver women’s doubles, bronze women’s singles, gold women’s team, gold junior doubles, gold junior team, silver junior singles)

 

 

Daniel Fox, Liam Schluter and Mitchell Kilduff will compete at Gold Coast 2018

Fox, Schluter, Kilduff named to Gold Coast 2018 Australia team

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Image credit: Getty Images

By Swimming Australia and World Intellectual Impairment Sport

Australia’s Daniel Fox, Liam Schluter and Mitchell Kilduff will represent the hosts as part of a 70-strong swimming team for April’s 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The team was announced by Commonwealth Games Australia on the Gold Coast following the four-day Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials at the Optus Aquatic Centre.

Both athletes will compete in S14 events, for athletes with intellectual impairments.

Made up of 49 able-bodied swimmers and 21 Para-sport athletes, Queensland dominated team selection with 40, followed by New South Wales (10), Victoria (nine), Western Australia (six) and South Australia (five).

The two youngest members of the team are 13-year-old Jasmine Greenwood and 16-year-old Kaylee McKeown while the oldest members of the group are Holly Barratt and Matt Levy, 31.

Fox, Schluter and Kilduff share multiple titles between them. Fox is a Paralympic medallist from London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as the defending Commonwealth Games champion in the men’s 200m freestyle S14.

Schluter won gold at the 2015 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Global Games in the men’s 400m freestyle. He too is a Paralympian, making his debut at Rio 2016 with a best finish of fifth in the 200m freestyle.

Kilduff took home four gold medals from the 2011 Global Games in Liguria, Italy. He went on to compete at London 2012, finishing fifth in 200m freestyle.

All three athletes are hoping to compete at home again in 2019, when the 2019 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games head to Brisbane in October. The Games are the world’s biggest sports event for athletes with intellectual impairments.

Commonwealth Games Australia Team Executive Andrew Baildon – a five time Commonwealth Games swimming gold medallist, congratulated the whole team, saying:

“We have witnessed a great few days up here on the Gold Coast at the Australian Swimming Trials.

“There has been some amazing performances throughout the trials and it has really given us a great taste of the action we can expect to see from our team in April. It is very exciting.

“I know how special it is to be named on an Australian Commonwealth Games Team and I feel extremely humbled to welcome these 70 swimmers on to Team AUS for Gold Coast 2018.”

National head coach Jacco Verhaeren said: “I am very pleased with the people that qualified. I think we’ve got, almost without exception I’d say, the best people in their best events.

“I think that’s important because if you want to defend titles and want to make the most out of the medal prospects in five weeks’ time you need your best people there.

“We want a full team and we want to compete in every event for medals. It’s as simple as that.

“The A times are the reference, top eight in the world is our goal. You know that’s our yardstick for how we track and what we want to achieve.

“And that will be the yardstick as well for Pan Pacs later on in the year because then we’re going back to A qualifying times without any exemption.

“But this is Commonwealth Games and it’s always great actually to be able to select a little bit of a broader team.

“It’s great that they can grow experience in a multidisciplinary environment like the Olympics really; and it’s one of the very rare events you actually have where you can practice being in that environment and definitely Rio and London 2012 showed that that is really necessary.”

Verhaeren was excited with the crop of new faces on the Games team, praising Swimming Australia’s Pathways Programme.

“We are working with our pathway performance staff, Jamie Salter and Glen Berringen and they work hard on developing systems, together with the State head coaches to basically pick up any young swimmer that has that potential,” said Verhaeren.

“We’re definitely trying to get more systemised and pick up these guys.

“James Magnussen was one of those guys actually as well.

“Three years before the Olympics he was invisible and then suddenly he is picked up and goes to a great coach and great program and becomes the world’s fastest swimmer.

“And sometimes it can work like that and with so many fantastic facilities and school swimming and everything, there’s still a lot (of talent) out there that we still have to explore.”

Australian Para-swimming team for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games:

  • Jesse Aungles (SA)
  • Emily Beecroft (Vic)
  • Rohan Bright (NSW)
  • Blake Cochrane (Qld)
  • Ellie Cole (Qld)
  • Timothy Disken (Vic)
  • Katherine Downie (WA)
  • Daniel Fox (Qld)
  • Jasmine Greenwood (NSW)
  • Matthew Haanappel (Vic)
  • Brenden Hall (Qld)
  • Timothy Hodge (NSW)
  • Mitchell Kilduff (NSW)
  • Paige Leonhardt (Qld)
  • Matthew Levy (NSW)
  • Ashleigh McConnell (Vic)
  • Lakeisha Patterson (Qld)
  • Logan Powell (Qld)
  • Liam Schluter (Qld)
  • Madeleine Scott (Vic)
  • Tiffany Thomas Kane (NSW)

Head coach: Jacco Verhaeren

Mentor coaches: Rohan Taylor, Jan Cameron

Coaches:

  • Peter Bishop (SA)
  • Michael Bohl (QLD)
  • Dean Boxall (QLD)
  • Harley Connolly (QLD)
  • Simon Cusack (QLD)
  • Nathan Doyle (QLD)
  • Craig Jackson (VIC)
  • Adam Kable (NSW)
  • David Lush (QLD)
  • Chris Mooney (QLD)
  • Chris Nesbit (QLD)
  • Vince Raleigh (QLD)
  • Richard Scarce (QLD)
  • Gavin Stewart (NSW)
  • Yuriy Vdovychenko (ACT)

 

Two golds for hosts France

Two golds for hosts France close World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships

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Hosts France stole the show on the final day of the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Indoor Athletics Championships in Val-De-Reuil on Sunday (4 March), winning two golds.

Marion Candelier (11:35.50) upgraded her silver medal from the 2016 indoor Championships to gold in the women’s 3,000m. Leading throughout Candelier grabbed her first gold, cheered on by her home crowds.

Portugal’s Melissa Cardoso (16:55.87) was second.

Nicolas Virapin claimed his fourth gold in the men’s 200m II2. He took the tape in 30.63 seconds to add to his wins from the triathlon, 60m and long jump from Friday and Saturday.

Russia rounded off their Championships with a further four golds on Sunday.

Pavel Sarkeev (8:56.22) was the victor in the men’s 3,000m. Sarkeev made his move at the halfway mark, opening up his stride to take a dominant win. Portugal’s Jose Azevedo (9:02.62) matched his performance from 2016 with silver. France’s Rachid Boutashgount (9:04.32) did the same, retaining his bronze.

Artem Muratov (22.44), the new title holder and world record holder in the men’s 400m II1, doubled his gold medal haul in the 200m. In a closely fought race, Muratov just edged France’s Charles Antoine Kouakou (22.54). Gracelino Barbosa (22.79), the sole representative of Cape Verde, claimed his third medal of the weekend with bronze.

Anastasiia Glushkova (26.50) took the tape in the women’s 200m II1 with an impressive run that saw her finish one second ahead of Poland’s Karolina Kucharczyk (27.50). Czech Republic’s Veronika Skuhrovska (28.36) rounded-off the top three.

Concluding the competition and taking Russia’s medal total to four were Vladimir Samoliuk, Dmitri Makarov, Sarkeev and Muratov in the men’s 4x400m relay II1 (3:31.03).

Spain’s Fernando Batista, Franci Perez Carrera, Ruben Cortes and Jose Martinez Morote sealed the silver in 3:43.19.

The French team of Daniel Royer, Renaud Brelik, Saby Chevalme and Quentin Foratier (3:55.28) took bronze.

Two wins for Portugal to take team gold

Portugal bagged two golds medals to secure their place at the top of the women’s team standings with 54 points. They took 10 medals overall, finishing on the podium in all events. France were second with 36 points and Turkey third on 31 points.

Ana Filipe successfully defended her women’s long jump II1 title. Taking her first gold and fifth medal overall, the 18-year-old leapt 1.48m. Her teammate Claudia Santos (1.38m) was second ahead of Turkey’s Esra Bayrak (1.33m) with bronze.

Filipe also ran the anchor leg in the winning women’s 4x400m II1 relay, dipping in at 4:35.75. Compatriots Maria Fernandes, Santos and Raquel Cerqueira helped secure the gold.

Zuzana Svatkova, Teresa Titerova, Katarina Husakova and Skuhrovska (4:49.02) took silver for the Czech Republic.

Earlier in the women’s 800m II1, Husakova (2:27.83) made a successful break from the field to take victory. Completing the race in 2:27.83, Husakova was delighted with her performance, celebrating with a dance. Turkey’s Muhsine Gezer (2:29.58) tried to go with Husakova but settled for silver. Poland’s Agata Pitura (2:45.88) was third.

Poland’s Tycjan Kozdra cleared 1.81m in the men’s high jump II1 to secure the win. Two athletes, Norway’s Oivind Bjorn Berger and Spain’s Fernando Batista, jumped 1.68m and equalled each other’s jumps to both take silver. The podium is Berger’s second medal having taken gold in the pole vault on Saturday.

Spain finished on top of the men’s team standings with 64 points, mainly coming from an incredible seven golds. France just missed out on first place, ending with 63 points. Russia were third with 47 points.

Full results from all competition days are available.

The 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships ran from 2-4 March. Around 70 athletes from 13 countries competed.

Berger flies high at Val-de-Reuil 2018

Norway’s Berger flies high at Val-De-Reuil 2018 with a new pole vault world record

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Norway’s Bjorn Oivind Berger broke the men’s pole vault II1 world record at the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Indoor Athletics Championships on Saturday (3 March) with a 4.75m leap.

Adding 4cm onto his previous best from the 2017 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Athletics European Indoor Championships, Berger comfortably cleared the bar to take gold in Val-de-Reuil, France.

Buoyed by his form the Norwegian went on to attempt 4.85m but was unsuccessful.

“I think today it went very well. I was very good in the first jump on the 4.85 but I did not get far enough forward, but it’s ok,” he said.

He has vowed to come back even stronger for the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport European Games in Paris, France.

“If I train well at home and correct I think I can take this [another world record] too.”

Spain’s Franci Perez Carrera cleared 3m to take silver. France’s Daniel Royer (2.60m), the silver medallist from 2016 in Ancona, Italy, was third.

Russia bagged a further two golds and a second world record on Saturday.

It was a family affair in the women’s 3,000m race walk II1 with Alina Khokhlova claiming the world record. The Russian impressed with a time of 14:59.19.

Her sister Regina (15:40.62) joined her on the podium with silver.  France’s Virginie Dreux (19:04.35) was third.

In the men’s shot put II1 Alexandra Alexandrov (14.21m) rounded-off a triumphant day for Russia, beating France’s defending champion Damien Rumeau (13.92m) to the gold. Rumeau’s compatriot Royer (10.34m) was third.

Poland’s Karolina Kucharczyk secured gold in the women’s long jump II1, improving on her silver medal from 2016 in the absence of Croatia’s former champion Mikela Ristoski.

Kucharczyk leapt 5.57m to take the win over Russia’s Aleksandra Ruchkina (5.38m). Portugal’s Ana Felipe (5.33m) completed the podium.

Going straight from her victory in the long jump to the track, just minutes later Kucharczyk claimed gold in the women’s 60m hurdles II1.

The Polish athlete eased to the top spot in 9.44 seconds. Felipe (10.28) also did a podium double, taking silver. Her teammate Claudia Santos (11.64) was third.

Spanish delight

Just 0.02 seconds separated the top three in the men’s 60m II1 on a day where Spain took three golds. Rodriguez Dionibel (7.22) came out on top. Cape Verde’s Graceline Barbosa (7.23) grabbed silver. France’s Charles-Antoine Kouakou (7.24) was third.

Perez Carrera added another gold medal for Spain in the men’s long jump II1. Jumping 5.66m, he beat Royer (5.42m) into silver.

Fernando Batista, Rodriguez, Ruben Cortes and Perez Carrera were the victors in the men’s 4x200m relay II1 for Spain, concluding a great day for the team. Four strong legs saw them take gold in 98.74.

France’s Abdoulaye Coulibaly, Florian Lariviere, Kouakou and Johan Roigt (99.70) were second.

Fabulous French

France’s Nicolas Virapin (8.65 seconds) added another gold to his collection in the men’s 60m II2, following on from his triathlon win from Friday. He went onto to take gold in the long jump II2 with a second round leap of 4.39m.

There was further gold medal joy for France in the women’s shot put II1. Gloria Agblemagnon hit her best in the fourth round, throwing 12.82 to take the title. Portugal’s Ines Fernandes (11.49m) equalled her silver from 2016. France’s Aminata Camara (11.04m) claimed bronze.

The best of the rest

Cape Verde’s Barbosa (8.88) successfully defended his title in the men’s 60m hurdles II1. Perez Carrera was not far behind, finishing in 9.03 seconds to take his fourth medal of the day. Royer (10.01) was third for the hosts. – his fourth podium finish of the day

Italian 18-year-old Dieng Ndiaga (2:00.16) collected his latest medal in a close men’s 800m II1. This time it was gold for the youngster having collected silver in the 1,500m on Friday.

Russia’s Vladimir Samoliuk (2:00.17) was only just behind Dieng, taking silver. Teammate Dmitri Makarov (2:01.96) was third.

Turkey’s Esra Bayrak took the tape in a close women’s 60m II1. Finishing ahead of France’s Danielle Delage (8.38), Bayrak ran 8.36. Czech Republic’s Veronika Skuhrovska (8:39) rounded-off the podium in third.

The women’s 4x200m relay II1 saw victory for Czech Republic. Zuzana Svatkova, Teresa Titerova, Katarin Husakova and Veronika Skuhrovska posted a strong performance for the gold in 1:54.71.

Portugal took silver courtesy of Raquel Cerqueira, Maria Fernandes Felipe and Santos (1:59.76). The French quartet of Laurie Brandel, Dreux, Marion Candelier and Danielle Delage (2:06.64) were third.

Portugal’s Pedro Isidro (13:05.19) claimed gold in the men’s 3,000 race walk II1, leading teammate Francisco Serra (15:37.27) who took bronze. Russia’s Alexander Surinov (14:04.04) split the Portuguese teammates with silver.

Full results from all competition days are available. 

Live results, updates and pictures will be available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Alpine and Nordic skiing Worlds conclude in Zakopane

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Russia, Japan and France have left the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) World Alpine and Nordic Skiing Championships with the majority of medals after competition concluded in Zakopane, Poland, on Friday (2 March).

Battling against very cold conditions dropping to as low as -15c, nearly 60 skiers from nine countries braved the slopes and trails in the hunt for world titles.

Russia opened their medal account on the first day of competition on Tuesday (27 February) in the cross-country skiing. The country blocked out the women’s 5km freestyle II1 podium and took a further two spots in the men’s 10km freestyle II1.

In the women’s, Elena Shchukina (18:39.0) opened her Championships with victory. Shchukina led two of her teammates onto the podium as Victoria Prokofeva (19:22.9) and Ekaterina Babaeva (20:20.1) were second and third, respectively.

The trio then swapped podium places the following day in the sprint classic. Prokofeva (3:59.9), Babaeva (3:45.8) and Shchukina (3:40.4) were first, second and third respectively.

Another Russian, Ivan Volegov, claimed gold in the men’s 10km in a time of 28:57.7 on Tuesday. Patryk Jakiela (29:20.1) handed the hosts their first medal of the competition with silver. Volegov’a compatriot Aleksandr Sorokin (29.42.17) completed the top three.

France’s Clement Colomby (20:47.6) secured gold in the men’s 10km freestyle II2 and sprint classic II2.

The sprints for II1 athletes took place on Wednesday (28 February) and delivered more gold for Russia.

Volegov (3:06.01) was quickest over the 1.2km course, beating Estonia’s defending champion Hans Teearu (2:51.3) into silver. Ivan Martiushev (2:52.2) grabbed another medal for Russia with bronze.

Poland were the defending champions in the men’s 3×2.5km relay but they proved to be no match for the Russians on Thursday (1 March).

Maksim Skurikhin, Volegov and Charushnikov (23:38.3) put on an impressive display. Skurikhin and Volegov’s first two legs were both under 8 minutes – the two quickest on the day.

The hosts’ Michal and Jerzy Krzanowsky and Jakiela (25:23.9) did still finish on the podium, taking silver.

France’s Yann Guebay, Dorian Traversaz and Gael Solomon (25:59.7) were third.

Babaeva and Prokofeva (21:46.1) kept up their 100 per cent podium record in the women’s 3×2.5km relay. The Japanese duo of Rena Aoyagi and Kei Nakazawa (26:57.6) were second.

In the mixed relay Shchukina, Martiusev and Sorokin (28:58.0) secured gold. They were followed by France’s Lea Thiroux, Stephane Kelkal and Solomon (29.47.3).

Aoyagi also competed in the mixed relay for Japan, taking bronze alongside Kohei Abe and Yutaro Murakoshi (32:00.3).

Rounding off the action were the long distance, mass start races on Friday.

In the women’s 10km freestyle II1 Shchukina (38:27.2) topped the podium once again, bringing her gold medal total to two. Sweden’s Kristin Bjorfeldt (42:30.2) was second ahead of France’s Thiroux (46:49.7) in third.

Poland’s Jakiela (44:59.8) retained his title in the men’s 15km freestyle II1, much to the delight of his home crowds. Teearu (45:28.8) was second and Charushnikov (45:48.9) third.

Alpine skiing

Opening the action on Tuesday was the slalom and if Russia dominated the cross-country skiing, the alpine belonged to Japan and France.

France’s Melania De Bonna (1:20.10) successfully defended her title in the women’s II1 with two leading runs.

Turkey’s Kader Yavus Ayse (1:24.28) was second, followed by Czech Republic’s Denisa Macurova (1:24.65).

De Bonna (1:16.97) retained her second title of the week in the giant slalom II1. Macurova (1:17.80) joined her on the podium once again, this time taking silver. Japan’s Mariko Yuge (1:20.21) rounded-off the top three.

The Frenchwoman then sealed her third gold medal of the week in the women’s super-G II1. De Bonna (38.00) went quickest with Yuge (38.99) only slightly behind. Macurova (39.64) was third.

Yoshihide Kimura (1:06.17) led a Japanese one-two in the men’s slalom II1, re-claiming his gold from Gourette, France, in 2017. Teammate Waturu Hiranoi (1:10.63) bagged the silver ahead of France’s Antoine Maure (1:10.98).

Just 24 hours later Kimura (1:13.11) stepped onto the top spot of the podium once again after winning the men’s giant slalom II1. Compatriot Yusuke Kizuke (1:15.15) was second. Alexander Haissl of Austria just missed out on silver, sealing bronze in 1:15.22.

Kimura also proved unstoppable in the men’s super-G II1 on Friday, sweeping all three world titles on offer in Zakopane.

He skied a time of 36.58, racing into the history books and leading an-all Japanese podium.

Hiranoi Wataru (37.21) was second and Kizuke (37.95) third.

Friday also featured the men’s super-G II2 where victory was claimed by another Japanese skier, Hiroki Miyoshi (41.12). France’s Paul Riche (42.67) was second.

Pictures and videos are available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Artem Muratov of Russia

Russia’s Muratov breaks 400m world record at World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships

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Russia’s Artem Muratov headlined a great day for Russia at the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships on Friday (2 March), breaking the men’s 400m II1 world record in Val-de-Reuil, France.

Muratov took an early lead at the Jesse Owens Stadium in Normandy, striding across the line for gold in 48.97. His time lowers the previous record of Cape Verde’s Gracelino Barbosa.

France’s Charles-Antoine Kouakou (51.42) tried to stick with Muratov but in the end settled for silver. Hong Kong’s Kung Yeung Chong (53.64) was third.

Russia claimed another gold courtesy of Aleksandra Ruchkina in the women’s triple jump II1. Hop, skipping and jumping her way to best of 11.50, Ruchkina beat Portugal’s long jump world champion Ana Filipe (10.93) into second.

Pavel Sarkeev eased to victory in the men’s 1,500m II1 in a time of 4:05.02 to round-off a trio of golds for Russia on the opening day. Ndiaga Dieng (4:10.42) of Italy was second and France’s Rashid Boutasghount (4:14.02) third.

In the women’s 1,500m II1 Turkey’s Muhsine Geyser (5:21.23) powered her way to first place with a sprint finish. The Czech Republic’s Katarina Husakova (5:30.83) was left in Geyser’s wake to secure silver. France’s Marion Candelier, the silver medallist from 2016, was third in 5:34.35.

There was a second gold for Turkey in the women’s 400m II1 after the disqualification of Russia’s Anastasiia Glushkova. Sevim Demircan (64.59) just dipped onto the line for the win ahead of France’s Laurie Brandel (64.90) with silver. Demircan’s teammate Yasemin Keskinsoy (68.27) was promoted to bronze.

Drama in the pentathlon

A dramatic women’s pentathlon II1 saw the top three swapping places throughout the day.

Poland’s Karolina Kucharczyk got her campaign off to a great start in the 60m hurdles. The individual world champion won her race in 9.22 seconds to take an early lead.

Portugal’s Claudia Santos (11.60) and France’s Virginie Dreux (11.96) were second and third respectively.

Santos pulled back some points on Kucharczyk in the high jump, with both women clearing 1.41m. The Portuguese athlete went on to win the shot put with a 8.40m throw.

However Kucharczyk made a comeback in the long jump, leaping to a 5.48m to lead the field once again. Santos was second with 4.44m and Dreux (4.04m) in third.

With a third place finish in the 800m, Kucharczyk secured the gold with 2,831 points. Santos (2,262) was second, followed onto the podium by Dreux (1,707).

In the opening men’s pentathlon II1 event Spain’s Franci Perez Carrera (9.05) led France’s Daniel Royer (9.34) in the 60m hurdles.

Royer made a comeback in the high jump, leaping 1.58m on his last attempt at the height. Carerra could only manage 1.55m. The Frenchman also claimed top points in the shot put with a 10.84m throw over Carrera’s 7.88m.

But Carrera made his intentions clear in the long jump, topping the table with 5.66m to Royer’s 5.42m. The Spaniard then went on take the tape in the 1,000m in 3:06.08 to finish on a winning score of 2,640. Royer (3:16.24) claimed silver just a few points behind with 2,637.

Argentina’s Alain Villamarin (12.47) was the victor in the men’s triple jump II1. Carlos Lima (12.45) took silver ahead of Turkey’s Onur Kopuzlu (12.15). With his bronze, Kopuzlu equalled his performance from the last edition in Ancona, Italy, in 2016.

France’s Nicolas Virapin took on the shot put, long jump and 60m in the men’s triathlon II2. He claimed gold with 2,802 points.

Full results are available throughout the competition. 

Live results, updates and pictures will be available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Preview: Val-de-Reuil 2018

Preview: 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships

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The stage is set for the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Indoor Athletics Championships from 2-4 March with some of the world’s best athletes arriving in Val de Reuil, France.

The competition will gather nearly 70 athletes from 13 countries at the Jesse Owens Stadium, including returning champions and Paralympians.

In the women’s, Portugal’s Ana Filipe is one of the headline acts. The teenager will go for her second consecutive gold in the high jump, having claimed the title in Ancona, Italy, in 2016. Filipe also took home a bronze medal in the long jump.

She went on to claim third in the same event at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, Great Britain, at the age of 17.

“I`m only going to try my best and see what happens,” Filipe said, before revealing she is targeting another jump title. “Training is good. I believe I also have good chance in the triple jump.”

Also in the mix will be Poland’s Karolina Kucharczyk, the long jump silver medallist from two years ago. Kucharczyk left Italy with a clutch a medals, also claiming gold in the 60m hurdles and bronze in the 200m.

On the field hosts France have a medal favourite in Gloria Agblemagnon, the women’s shot put title holder.

Turkey’s Mihriban Kaya rounds off a stellar line-up in the women’s as she tries to defend her women’s pentathlon title. France’s Virginie Dreux secured silver at the last edition and is sure to try to capitalise on the energy of her home crowds.

Men’s

In the men’s Dreux’s teammate Damien Rumeau will go for his latest gold in the shot put.

However the absence of Portuguese multiple champion Lenine Cunha because of delayed recovery from a knee operation leaves the door wide open on the track and field.

Norway’s Bjorn Oivind Berger claimed high jump silver behind Cunha in 2016.

However Berger is the man with the target on his back in the pole vault having taken the top spot last time around. France’s Daniel Royer will also want to impress on home soil by improving on his silver medal performance.

Portugal’s Pedro Isidro is the defending champion in the men’s 3,000m race walk. Completing the headliners is Cape Verde’s Gracelino Barbosa, the men’s 60m hurdles gold medallist from 2016.

Live results, updates and pictures will be available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A group of runners with intellectual impairments race on an indoor track

Four things to know about Val-de-Reuil 2018

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The 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Indoor Athletics Championships are the biggest track and field competition this year.

Here are four things you might not know about the host city Val-de-Reuil and the Championships themselves.

Big names

The indoor athletics Championships always attract the big name stars as they take every opportunity to compete all year round.

In 2018 the competition will feature many Paralympians including Portugal’s Ana Filipe. Filipe is a young star who made her Paralympic debut in 2016. She is a defending champion in the high jump, bronze medallist from the long jump and is targeting the triple jump crown.

Global Games build-up

Val-de-Reuil is one of the major competitions taking place in the build up to the 2019 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games in Brisbane, Australia.

The major multi-sport event is the world’s biggest gathering of elite athletes with intellectual impairments.

The podiums at Val-de-Reuil will therefore give a good indication of who could claim medals in Australia in 2019.

Jesse Owens stadium

Opened in December 2009, the Jesse Owens stadium will play host to the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships.

It stages high level sporting events, conferences, conferences and shows and can hold 1,500 spectators. It hosts the Forum des métiers and recently Festiv’Art. It has also been used for national university or school competitions.

New town

Val-de-Reuil is located in the Normandy region in France.

It has only existed since the 1970s when it became one of nine new towns created in the country. In 1984 it changed its name to Val-de-Reuil to avoid confusion with nearby Le Vaudreuil.

Live results, updates and pictures will be available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram between 2-4 March.

Preview: Zakopane 2018

Preview: Zakopane 2018 World Alpine and Nordic Skiing Championships

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Around 60 skiers from nine countries have arrived in Zakopane, Poland, for the 2018 International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) World Alpine and Nordic Skiing Championships.

Action gets underway on Tuesday (27 February) with the men’s and women’s slalom, men’s 10km and women’s 5km free technique.

At the Suche ski resort France’s Melanie De Bonna will begin her campaign to try to defend three titles.

In 2017 on her home snow in Gourette, the 21-year-old claimed gold in the super-G, giant slalom and slalom.

Japan’s Yoshihidi Kimura reached similar heights in the men’s a year ago and returns to the snow in Zakopane. Kimura sealed wins in the super-G and slalom but teammate Satoshi Tagawa prevented him from a clean sweep in the giant slalom.

Tagawa has been plotting how to overcome his double world champion teammate: “I want my revenge,” he said. “I will get myself mentally prepared for the event.”

Nordic skiing

On the trails of the Centralny Osrodek Sportu Zakopane, hosts Poland will go for glory in the cross-country skiing. Patryk Jakiela is the defending champion in the 15km free.

However Estonia’s Haans Teearu is keen to retain his 10km and sprint crown. Teearu is expected to push Jakiela all the way.

“For a few years I have been winning the 15km long course at the World Championships and I hope that I will win in Zakopane too,” Jakiela said. “I train a lot and feel strong, but I know that other players will want to stop me.

“There may be many situations on the race route, I can fall over, I can break a ski, I can lose a lot of strength, but I promise that I will fight. I like this race because I’m strong.”

Jakiela will also join Jerzy and Michal Krzanowski as they look to repeat their title winning performance in the men’s 3×2.5km relay from 2017.

Zakopane 2018 runs from 27 February – 2 March. It is the biggest competition on the calendar for skiers with intellectual impairments.

Alpine skiing will feature slalom, giant slalom and super-G. Nordic skiers will compete in the cross-country sprint, middle and long distance races as well as a 3×2.5km relay.

The Championships will also see the debut of two trial impairment groups – II2 for athletes with more significant impairments and II3 for athletes with high functioning autism. Skiers in the existing II1 category will also compete.

Live results, updates and pictures will be available at World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.