Team USA ready for competition to begin at 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2011
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand—Spikes are set, tires are pumped and prosthetics are tuned as 51 U.S. athletes are making their final preparations to compete at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, which begin on Saturday, January 22.
“Christchurch is a great city. The people here are really friendly and helpful,” said Lex Gillette (Raleigh, N.C.), who will be competing in the 100m, long jump and triple jump (T11/F11). “We’ve been out to the competition venue for a few practices and it’s a really nice facility. We’re looking forward to going out and making some things happen.”
Prior to arriving in Christchurch, Team USA gathered in Sydney, Australia for its last training camp and competition in advance of the world championships. Now having spent four days in the host city and having the opportunity to train at the competition venue at QEII Park, the athletes are ready to run, push, throw and jump.
“This is my first world championships, so I’m just looking forward to the competition and running some of my best times yet,” said Kortney Clemons (Little Rock, Miss.), a U.S. Army veteran making his Team USA debut. “I’m doing the long jump, 100m and 200m (F42/T42). This is my first opportunity to line up with the best sprinters in the world and see how I measure up. I’m really excited about that and look forward to growing as an athlete as I compete at these world championships.”
Also making his first appearance for Team USA is Dennis Ogbe (Louisville, Ky.), who will be competing in the shot put and discus (F58). Ogbe has previously competed for his native country, Nigeria. But, he recently became a U.S. citizen and, here in Christchurch, competes as an American for the first time.
“I am so proud to be an American, I cannot even find the words to describe the feeling,” said Ogbe. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a major international competition like this, so what I’m aiming for is to get that experience under my belt again. What I always believe in is ‘He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.’ So no matter what the outcome of this competition will be, I’m just going to take home what I’ve learned here and work harder.”
On the other end of the spectrum is Team USA veteran Jessica Galli (Hillsborough, N.J.), a three-time Paralympian preparing for her third IPC Athletics World Championships. Galli won an incredible five medals at the 2006 World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands and another five medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Galli has the potential to win six medals here in Christchurch, as she will compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events (T53), as well as the 4x400m relay.
“I feel a little bit of pressure on me and I think I need to let that all go and see how things go on the track,” said Galli. “I just need to perform the best I can and be proud of whatever that performance may be.”
More than 1,000 athletes from 70 countries will take part in the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships and competition runs from January 22-30.
Follow the team throughout the competition at USParalympics.org.
Additionally, the official website of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships is ipcathleticsworldchamps.com and online broadcast coverage of the event can be found at ParalympicSport.tv.
2011 U.S. IPC Athletics World Championships Team
Women
Sydney Bolen (Cordova, Tenn.)
Catherine Callahan (San Antonio, Texas)
Zena Cole (Toledo, Ohio)
Julie Crisp (Portland, Ore.)
Anjali Forber-Pratt (Natick, Mass.)
Jessica Galli (Hillsborough, N.J.)
April Holmes (Chula Vista, Calif.)
Cheryl Leitner (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Chelsea McClammer (Spokane, Wash.)
Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.)
Amanda McGrory (Kennett Square, Pa.)
Kristen Messer (Austin, Texas)
Kerri Morgan (St. Louis, Mo.)
Krista Pylkki (St. Paul, Minn.)
Shirley Reilly (Tucson, Ariz.)
Robyn Stawski (Tampa, Fla.)
Katy Sullivan (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Jeanette Thompson (Chicago, Ill.)
Amberlynn Weber (Spokane, Wash.)
Men
Jordan Bird (Wichita, Ks.)
Jim Bob Bizzell (Odessa, Texas)
Sean Burns (Charlotte, N.C.)
Jeremy Campbell (Perryton, Texas)
Ryan Chalmers (Churchville, N.Y.)
Tommy Chasanoff (Bradenton, Fla.)
Kortney Clemons (Little Rock, Miss.)
Sam Craven (Walnut Creek, Calif.)
Scott Danberg (Cooper City, Fla.)
Jeremy Finton (Dayton, Ohio)
Elexis Gillette (Raleigh, N.C.)
Chris Hammer (Cheney, Wash.)
Josiah Jamison (Vance, S.C.)
Blake Leeper (Church Hill, Tenn.)
Carlos Leon (N. Lauderdale, Fla.)
Michael Murray (Nashville, Tenn.)
Paul Nitz (Bloomfield, Ct.)
Dennis Ogbe (Louisville, Ky.)
Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minn.)
Markeith Price (Nashville, Tenn.)
David Prince (Marietta, Ga.)
Austin Pruitt (Spokane, Wash.)
Daniel Rizzieri (Cohocton, N.Y.)
Josh Roberts (Morris, Ala.)
Scot Severn (Caro, Mich.)
Brian Siemann (Millstone, N.J.)
Jerome Singleton (Irmo, S.C.)
Jeff Skiba (Sammamish, Wash.)
Kevin Stokes (Roswell, Ga.)
Casey Tibbs (Augusta, Ga.)
Scott Winkler (Grovetown, Ga.)
Please direct media inquiries to Susan Katz, susan.katz@usoc.org or +02 1221 3336 (New Zealand cell phone).