CHARLOTTE Moore will see her dreams come true this summer after being selected to represent Great Britain at the Rio Paralympics.
The British Paralympic Association (BPA) have announced a 12-strong team mixed with a blend of of youth and experience for Rio 2016 and Coventry’s Moore has earned her first call-up to a Games, which run from September 7-18.
The women’s wheelchair basketball team has had a run of successful results recently, including a fifth place finish at the World Championships in 2014, and Moore will be hoping to help the team improve on that position in Brazil later this year.
Moore is a graduate of the BPA’s Paralympic Inspiration Programme, which saw her attend London 2012 as a spectator in order to soak up the atmosphere and learn about what it takes to compete at the Games.
“I have always dreamed of competing at the Paralympic Games but in was only in the last few years that I realised that it might happen,” said Moore, who took up wheelchair basketball at the tender age of eight.
“I’ve worked so hard and now it hardly even feels real! I think the anticipation of competing in Rio will continue to drive me to be the best I can be at the Games – I’m looking forward to it already.”
The team also includes stalwarts of the team Clare Griffiths, who has competed at every Games since Sydney 2000, and Helen Freeman, who is preparing for her third appearance as a Paralympic athlete. The team will be led by co-captains Sophie Carrigill and Helen Freeman.
London 2012 competitors Jude Hamer, Amy Conroy and Laurie Williams also return to the fold for Rio and they will be joined by teenager Katie Morrow, who is the youngest athlete on the team at just 16 years of age, as well as Robyn Love, who made a meteoric rise through the ranks to represent her country after discovering wheelchair basketball during London 2012.
“To compete at the Paralympic Games is one of the highest honours an athlete can receive,” said Paul Davies, performance director at British Wheelchair Basketball.
“These athletes have worked incredibly hard for years and I am delighted that they have reached this point in their sporting careers.
“In the years since London 2012, the GB Women have earned their place within the world’s top five teams and, building upon an extremely strong preparation programme, are set to achieve the best ever Paralympic performance in Rio.”
GB women’s wheelchair basketball for Rio: Katie Morrow (4.5), Amy Conroy (4.0), Jude Hamer (4.0), Helen Freeman (4.0), Robyn Love (3.5), Jordanna Bartlett (3.0), Leah Evans (2.5), Laurie Williams (2.5), Joy Haizelden (2.5), Clare Griffiths (1.5), Sophie Carrigill (1.0), Charlotte Moore (1.0).
