At a home Games, there will be a lot of pressure on us to perform to our best, but the home support should boost us and if we can play to the crowd then we can be successful
(PRWEB) June 23, 2012
Veteran Peter Norfolk has set his sights on a hat-trick of gold medals after he was named in the ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis squad for London 2012.
The 51-year-old, who has won gold in the quad class since it was introduced to the Games in Athens 2004, hopes to claim his third successive top-podium finish this summer.
And Norfolk - affectionately nicknamed "The Quadfather" - is delighted to have been selected in the squad of 10 for London.
“I have worked incredibly hard over the years and competing at the Paralympics always makes the previous four years of training, travelling and sacrifices feel worthwhile,” he says.
Norfolk is the current world number two in the quad division and will compete at Eton Manor, the only newly built venue that will be used solely for the Paralympics this summer.
And he is hoping the home support will serve up the inspiration for gold-medal success.
“At a home Games, there will be a lot of pressure on us to perform to our best, but the home support should boost us and if we can play to the crowd then we can be successful,” he insists.
Norfolk is joined in the squad by Jamie Burdekin, who won bronze alongside him in the quad doubles in Beijing in 2008, as well as the world number four Andy Lapthorne.
The other selected athletes for the men’s events are Marc McCarroll, David Phillipson, Alex Jewitt andGordon Reid.
In the women’s singles events, Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley return to the team to make their second Games appearance, while Louise Hunt will make her debut in London.
“I was so happy to be selected,” says Whiley. “I started preparing for London as soon as I finished competing in Beijing, and it has always been my main goal. Therefore, to hear that I have been selected for the home Games has really made my day.
Whiley is sure that London 2012 will be different from her experiences in Beijing.
“There will certainly be expectation and pressure, but I know everyone will be backing us and I think it will be incredible.”
ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis squad for London 2012:
Men’s Division
Gordon Reid (Born: Alexandria. Lives: Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute)
Marc McCarroll (Born: Harrow. Lives: Ickenham, Middlesex)
David Phillipson (Born: Huntingdon. Lives: Bingham, Nottinghamshire)
Alex Jewitt (Sheffield)
Women’s Division
Lucy Shuker (Fleet, Hampshire. Trains: Blackbrook Tennis Centre, Taunton)
Jordanne Whiley (Born: Birmingham. Lives: Halesowen, West Midlands)
Louise Hunt (Swindon)
Quad Division
Peter Norfolk (Born: Middlesex. Lives: Alton, Hampshire)
Andy Lapthorne (Born: Hammersmith. Lives: Eastcote, Middlesex)
Jamie Burdekin (Liverpool)
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