SEVERAL PARA ATHLETES KICK OFF 2023 SEASON AT SHARJAH OPEN

With a week to go until the World Para Athletics Grand Prix gets underway in Dubai, a number of the country’s leading para-athletes will compete at the Sharjah International Open Meeting in the United Arab Emirates (20-22 February).

With Hannah Cockroft (Leeds), Kare Adenegan (Job King, Coventry) and Fabienne Andre (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy) all in action, the T34 wheelchair races will be world-class as the trio take each other on for the first time since their 1-2-3 at last summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Cockroft, multiple global champion, will race over 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m at the Sharjah meeting, and she will go head-to-head with Adenegan and Andre in all disciplines apart from the 1500m.

Also in wheelchair racing action is double Paralympic medallist Sammi Kinghorn (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) who will line-up in all distances from 100m up to 1500m. T54 athletes Eden Rainbow-Cooper (Jenny Archer, Weir Archer Academy) and Mel Woods (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) will also be in action; the former coming into the track meeting after winning the Dubai marathon last weekend.

Nathan Maguire (Ste Hoskins, Kirkby) and Danny Sidbury (Christine Parsloe, Sutton & District) will take each other on over a number of distances. The pair enjoyed a real battle in the Commonwealth 1500m final last year with Maguire sealing the gold on that occasion. Richard Chiassaro (Jenni Banks, Harlow) will also take to the track in the highlight competitive T54 wheelchair races.

European medallist Ben Rowlings (Coventry) goes in the T34 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m, while Maddie Down (Dominic McNeillis, Halesowen) will take part in the ambulant 100m and long jump at the meeting.

Entry lists can be found here: https://team-thomas.org/_erg23/Sharjah/