A Russian equestrian rides her horse

Second World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian video competition to be held

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The International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments has announced that the second World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian video competition will be held in 2018, in the latest phase of the sport’s development.

Following the success of the first competition held in the innovative video format in 2017, countries have until 7 October to submit their entries.

Last year 14 riders from four countries were filmed completing the Grade IV Novice A test. Russia’s Ekaterina Kirienkova was crowned the winner on her horse Lady Lux.

In 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport is hoping for even more entries.

Uta Rindfleisch, who is leading the development of Para Equestrian for athletes with intellectual impairments, said: “The first video competition was very much a trial to see what interest is out there for the sport. We were pleased to have four countries taking part and the standard was very high.

“This year we are encouraging even more entries. We know that there are riders in a lot of countries but they may not have the funding to be able to travel to events. That is why we are running the competition in a video format, to make taking part as simple as possible.”

The 2nd World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian Video Competition is open to World Intellectual Impairment Sport members and non-member countries to aid the development of Para Equestrian for athletes with intellectual impairments.

Horses are required to wear bandages to indicate that the test has not been performed and judged at another competition. Tests will be assessed and scored by a panel of International Federation for Equestrian Sport (FEI) Para Equestrian judges.

About World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian

Equestrian was added to the World Intellectual Impairment Sport sport programme in 2016 in the form of dressage. The organisation wants to offer the best riders with intellectual impairments the chance to compete regularly.

More information about the sport, including the rules and history, can be found at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian page.

A table tennis player with an intellectual impairment

What is an intellectual impairment?

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Sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment can sometimes be confusing for onlookers.

Some ask ‘why do people who are able bodied get to compete at the Paralympic Games?’ or ‘why does there need to be separate competitions for these athletes?’

The simple answer is that there are many adaptations athletes with intellectual impairments need to make in both training and competitions.

So in order to create a level playing field, like other athletes with impairments, they must meet a certain criteria and compete against others who have a similar level of functioning.

“In basic terms an intellectual impairment means that a person finds it harder to learn, understand and communicate. This has a significant impact on their abilities within sports,” Jan Burns, World Intellectual Impairment Sport’ Head of Eligibility and resident expert, said.

“Things which able-bodied athletes consider routine, such as race tactics, pacing or learning where the best take-off point is for jumps, are harder to for athletes with intellectual impairments.

“For example in a 10,000m race you would ideally want to save yourself for the final few laps. But athletes with intellectual impairments may not be able to manage and adjust to a consistent pace and to resist the impulse of setting an early high pace if the runner beside them sets off fast.

“It also extends to training – if you find it harder to learn from any mistakes or remember what your coach has told you, by the time you get to the track, field or pool you might not be as prepared as someone who can.”

So who decides who is eligible to compete?

There are 14 sports on the World Intellectual Impairment Sport programme. Athletes can compete at the Paralympic Games in three of these – athletics, swimming and table tennis.

For the Paralympic sports there is a two-step process. The first is know as ‘eligibility’. This stage is managed by World Intellectual Impairment Sport and means that an athlete has an eligible impairment.

“We used the World Health Organisation definition to create criteria within which athletes are considered eligible to compete,” Burns explained. “These include an IQ of 75 or less, significant limitations in adaptive behaviour in social and practical situations and the impairments must have been diagnosed before the age of 18.”

Countries submit psychological assessments and other paperwork to World Intellectual Impairment Sport which they think shows that an athlete meets the criteria. These are then assessed by the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Eligibility Panel – made up of a group of expert psychologists from around the world.

Athletes with intellectual impairments compete in the II1 group at World Intellectual Impairment Sport competitions. This is also known as S14 in swimming, T/F20 for athletics and class 11 in table tennis.

For those three sports, once an athlete is found eligible by World Intellectual Impairment Sport, they must then be classified by the relevant International Federation (World Para Athletics, World Para Swimming and the International Table Tennis Federation). Classification determines whether or not an athlete’s impairment affects their sport performance in that particular sport.

“In the other sports not on the Paralympic programme, World Intellectual Impairment Sport uses eligibility to determine whether they can compete,” Burns explained. “We are developing classification systems in other sports, like basketball, but there is a huge amount of research that needs to be done to make them specific to each sport.”

“I think it’s quite incredible how athletes with intellectual impairments compete,” Burns said. “When you think about how hard they have to work mentally just to tune in to the most basic of athletic instincts, it’s so impressive.”

World Intellectual Impairment Sport also has eligibility groups for athletes that include other impairments, such as Down syndrome and autism. More information on all the groups can be found on the World Intellectual Impairment Sport eligibility and classification pages.

 

World Intellectual Impairment Sport Governing Board meets in Cairo

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The International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Governing Board gathered for their first meeting of 2018 in Cairo, Egypt, between 21-22 March.

During the meeting, hosted by World Intellectual Impairment Sport Egypt member ESFID, a number of key items were agreed, setting-up 2018 as another year of progress.

The board have agreed to create a Neutral Athlete Policy to allow the participation of athletes from countries with no member organisation to compete at World Intellectual Impairment Sport competitions in exceptional circumstances. The full policy will be developed and published in the coming months.

The group also reviewed the progress of the project to introduce additional eligibility groups in World Intellectual Impairment Sport competition.

The trial groups – II2 for athletes with more significant impairments and II3 for athletes with high-functioning autism – were introduced in 2017 at the swimming and table tennis Championships.

Following the further inclusion of II2 and II3 medal events at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Indoor Athletics Championships and World Intellectual Impairment Sport World Alpine and Nordic Skiing Championships in early 2018, it was agreed to continue with the trial. II2 has initially been limited to athletes with Down syndrome but research is underway regarding expanding the group to athletes who have an intellectual together with a further impairments.

From a strategic perspective the board discussed the World Intellectual Impairment Sport events programme and how competitions can be improved from an athlete and stakeholder perspective. This included the role of the sports committees and the Official Representative – the Governing Board member assigned to each event. The ideas put forward will be discussed at the Sports Council meeting in July.

The annual accounts for 2017 were presented and approved, and these have now been published in the Annual Report.

The first quarter management accounts for 2018 were also discussed alongside the need to generate more income through partnerships and fundraising. Projects such as #WeAreSport and the new World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Athlete Foundation have seen early success but more work is required to support other initiatives.

Revisions were agreed to a number of policies and provisions which follows on from governance changes agreed at the 2017 General Assembly.

Suspensions of World Intellectual Impairment Sport Members in Indonesia and Great Britain were lifted and the Confederation Internationale Francophone Sport Adapté Culture (CIFSAC) was added as a provisional member. If formally approved at General Assembly, CIFSAC will be the second member in the International Federation category alongside World Taekwondo.

A number of appointments to sub-committees were also signed off. Catherine Fayollet (FRA) was confirmed as chairperson of the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Medical Committee and Dave Harman (ECU) has been appointed to the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games Committee.

A reorganisation of the Anti-Doping Committee is also currently being implemented to ensure greater accountability and focus on individuals strengths/experience.

Finally updates were received on the planning and delivery of the 2019 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games in Brisbane, Australia. Reviews were also undertaken of the 2017 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Swimming Championships, indoor athletics and alpine and Nordic skiing.

The next World Intellectual Impairment Sport Governing Board meeting will take place in Madrid, Spain, in September.

Santiago del Estero

World Intellectual Impairment Sport expects Santiago del Estero swimming Championships will break new ground

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The International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) is confident that the 2018 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Swimming Open Championships (Americas) in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, will set the standard for future events.

A site visit by World Intellectual Impairment Sport Swimming Committee Chairperson Dave Harman took place between 19-23 March. Harman was shown around the venue and was introduced to a variety of dignitaries from local and state government. He also met key personnel from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and National Federation.

The media launch was also held during the four day visit.

“I have returned from Argentina with great confidence that Santiago del Estero has the potential to raise the bar for our swimming Championships, led by the Argentina Federation for Sports for People with Intellectual Impairments [FADDIM],” Harman said.

“I am very impressed with the newly built venue, Madre de Ciudades, but I was also introduced to a range of people who demonstrated a clear commitment to staging an excellent event.

“I was struck by the enthusiasm from the National Swimming Federation, from the clear interest of the State Governor, Dr. Gerardo Zamora, and the positivity of the Chief of the State Cabinet and the various ministers I met. This kind of support is unprecedented but crucial to the success and reach of the competition.

Progress in Americas as Argentina to host first swimming Championships

“The work that Technical Manager Patricio Ramallo, Argentinian Swimming Confederation Secretary Sergio Antonini and Aquatic Complex Director Professor Claudio Mentenego have already considered and put into place reassures me that theses Championships will be yet another milestone in the rising quality of World Intellectual Impairment Sport Swimming events.

“My thanks must also go to Professor Carlos Dapello, the State Secretary of Sport, Professor Franco Petta, the President of FADDIM, Professor Gabriela Viglino and Dr. Julian Britez for their work towards Santiago del Estero 2018. There is a great deal of experience of organising major international events within the group which I am sure will provide huge benefits.”

Harman discussed a variety of topics with the LOC and their supporters including logistics, transport, media and marketing, accommodation and broadcast. Organisers have committed to livestreaming the competition, the plans for which will be reviewed over the coming months.

About Santiago del Estero

The competition, which runs from 29 August – 2 September, is the first regional competition of its kind in any World Intellectual Impairment Sport sport in the Americas. Around 160 athletes from 10 countries are expected to compete. World Intellectual Impairment Sport has applied to World Para Swimming for sanctioning and classification.

Santiago del Estero 2018 is 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. They will a;so be a major step on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

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.

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