Whiley named in Paralympic squad (From Halesowen News)

Whiley named in Paralympic squad

11:00am Tuesday 19th June 2012 in Sport

HALESOWEN serving sensation Jordanne Whiley has been confirmed in Britain’s wheelchair tennis squad for the Paralympics.

The 20-year-old was today named by the British Paralympics Association as one of the athletes who will compete at Eton Manor at the Olympic Park in just over 70 days’ time.

It will be Whiley’s second Games, after she made her debut in Beijing four years ago and the competition is in her blood, as her father also competed for Britain at the Paralympic Games in New York in 1984 winning a bronze medal on the track.

A delighted Whiley said: “I am so happy to be selected. I started preparing for London as soon as I finished competing in Beijing and it has always been my main goal, so to hear that I have qualified for the home Games has really made my day.

“At the Test Event I had the opportunity to play on Centre Court in the final before a lot of the other athletes and the venue is great.

“A lot of people who haven’t seen wheelchair tennis before will see what a fantastic spectator sport it is and how brilliant the athletes are – it has the potential to surprise a lot of people in London.”

Craig Hunter, Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB, added his congratulations saying: “Wheelchair Tennis, like its Olympic counterpart, has one of the most intense international competition circuits of any Paralympic sport and these players spend weeks at a time abroad, training and competing in order to get themselves into the best possible shape both physically and tactically.

“These players give up so much in their lives and sacrifice so much in order to dedicate themselves to their sport, and so it is a great honour to be able to reward all their hard work by confirming their selection to ParalympicsGB today.”