The Australian Paralympic Team to compete at the 2008 Beijing Games was announced today by Greg Hartung, President of the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC).
The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Federal Minister for Youth and Sport, Kate Ellis, joined the announcement today in Parliament House, Canberra, of the 170 athletes to represent Australia at the 13th Paralympic Games in September.
"The Paralympic Games are unquestionably the world's greatest test for elite athletes with a disability and there is no doubt that Beijing will be the most competitive Games ever," Mr Hartung said.
"Australians have high expectations of their Paralympic athletes, and I know the athletes named today will compete in Beijing in the great tradition established by Australian Paralympians in Games past, continuing our country's impressive record.
"We expect the standard of competition to be at an all-time high, particularly from China, Great Britain, the USA and emerging Paralympic powers such as Ukraine, Japan and Brazil. As Australia's Paralympic athletes continue to make the transition further into the realm of elitism, so do more and more athletes with a disability from right around the world.
"While they will leave these shores as the best-prepared and best-supported team in our history, they will arrive in China facing their toughest-ever test," Mr Hartung said.
Athletes from every Australian state and territory have earned selection for Beijing.
Set to compete in 13 sports when the Games begin in 39 days, Australia will be represented by 95 first-time Paralympians in addition to 75 returning athletes, who have a total of 156 Games and 180 medals to their credit.
Having featured at every Paralympic Games since the first summer Games in Rome 1960, the Australian Team's record is formidable, highlighted by numerous top 10 finishes and capped by its number one ranking on the medal tally at the Sydney Games in 2000.
Now, with Beijing in its sights and with 908 medals from previous Paralympic competition, the 2008 Team could be on the verge of earning Australia its 1000th Paralympic medal.
Consisting of 96 men and 74 women, the Australian Team includes 27 athletes, or 17 percent of the Team, who were discovered through the Australian Paralympic Committee's Toyota Talent Search program.
A total of 992 people have participated in the Talent Search Program since it was launched in March 2005, its success underlined by those 27 athletes who have already earned selection in the 2008 Team.
Among them is cyclist Jayme Paris, a 19-year-old discovered at a Talent Search Day in Sydney, who has already emerged as a world champion and world record holder.
"Jayme will certainly be an athlete to watch out for in Beijing, but she is only one of a host of talented youngsters we are looking forward to seeing in action," said Mr Hartung.
"Complementing the impressive crop of up and coming athletes, is a wealth of experienced athletes, such as Libby Kosmala, Darren Thrupp and Chris Scott.
"Darren and Chris are two of the six athletes competing at their sixth Paralympic Games while Libby will compete at her 10th. Libby's recent medal performance in a major international tournament, shooting almost perfect scores, showed she still has what it takes against world-class competition," observed Mr Hartung.
The Australian Paralympic Team will depart for Beijing on 1 September ahead of the Beijing Paralympic Games opening ceremony on 6 September. In all, there will be 472 medals on offer.
"Independent research tells us that a significant majority of Australians followed the success of the Australian Paralympic Team in Athens. We are confident Australians will again get behind their team as they strive for success in Beijing," said Mr Hartung.
