By Sam Tonks          Â
With the IPC World Para Athletics Championships getting underway at London Stadium tomorrow, Team GB boasts a range of talented athletes competing across all fields. Featuring 21 medallists from the 2016 Rio Olympics, a 49-strong squad will compete, headlined by Olympic and World champions, Jonnie Peacock, Hannah Cockroft, Aled Davies and Richard Whitehead.
Cockroft has dominated the T34 event this year, setting an astonishing five world records over two weeks last month in Switzerland. Now holding the world records from 100m to 1500m in her field, she’s guaranteed to be the star attraction as she goes for a consecutive world treble in the 100m, 400m and 800m.
Davies and Whitehead also made history in Nottwil, the former holding records in the Shot Put and Discus whilst Whitehead beat his own time in the T42 200m. GB won 11 golds in the London Paralympics in 2012 and expectations are high for golds to be raining around the London Stadium again.
London born athletes Toby Gold and Sophie Kamlish will hope for inspiration from fellow 100m sprinter Peacock to realise the winning feeling in front of a home crowd. Gold, 22, from Twickenham is already European champion in the T33 100m and won silver in Rio last year.
Kamlish at just 20 broke the world record in in the T44 100m heats last year in Rio but missed a podium spot. She’ll be hoping a home crowd will spur her to success in London this year.
A trio of GB debutants, Zak Skinner, Martina Barber and Luke Sinnot will aim to leave a lasting impression on the London Stadium crowd. They should be helped by the experience of Dan Greaves and Stephen Miller, the latter making his seventh world championship appearance.
Team GB will begin their world championships campaign tomorrow as the London Stadium becomes the centre of athletics this summer.
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