More Gold as Sascha Named Male Swimmer of the Meet

Sascha added more Gold to yesterday's medal rush as he competed in another three events at the DSE National Short Course Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield today.

And not only was it Gold for Sascha, it was more records as he broke the Short Course World Record in the 50M S6 Butterfly with a time of 31.80 seconds and also broke the British Record in the 50M S6 Freestyle with a time of 32.35 seconds. Sascha also swam in the 100M S7 Breaststroke and won in a time of 1:24.50 bringing his medal tally to an impressive eight Golds from eight races.

As a result of his impressive performances, Sascha was named Male Swimmer of the Championships on Sunday and picked up a trophy for his efforts.

Speaking after the event Sascha said, “It's been a great weekend and shows I'm in good shape before going out to the Worlds. I'm swimming in four races while in Rio and ranked number one in three of the races, so I hope it means coming home with some medals”.

Other websites with news:

Disability Sports Events

BBC Disability Sport

Sascha Cleans up on First Day of DSE Nationals in Sheffield

Sascha was in inspiring form on the first day of the DSE National Short Course Swimming Championships in Sheffield as he produced personal best times in each of his five races to claim five Gold medals.

With personal bests across the board, it also meant Sascha lowered a record in each of his five events, which even Sascha was a little suprised about.

"I didn't think I'd swim so fast so it's a nice suprise just prior to a major championships. I'm extremely happy with my butterfly time as it's still a fairly new event for me so it can only bode well for the future," he said.

Sascha's results in full were:

• 100M SM6 Individual Medley - 1:15.89 (WR)
• 200M SM6 Individual Medley - 2:41.52 (WR)
• 100M S6 Butterfly - 1:08.67 (ER)
• 50M S6 Backstroke - 37.26 (ER)
• 100M S6 Freestyle - 1:09.75 (BR)

Sascha to Compete at DSE Nationals this Weekend.

Sascha will be one of many Paralympic athletes swimming at the DSE National Short Course Swimming Championships in Sheffield this weekend as he prepares for the World Short Course Championships in Rio, Brazil, which start next week.

The Championships in Sheffield will be the last competition for athletes before they head off to Rio and will be an ideal chance for them to compete at the short course distance of 25M instead of 50M.

More news will be posted here soon but look out for news at the following sites also.

www.britishswimming.org

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/default.stm

Sascha and Nyree Open Hydrotherapy Pool at Blackmarsten School in Hereford.

Sascha and his fiance Nyree Lewis were special guests at Blackmarston School in Hereford, as it opened up its new £100,000 hydrotherapy pool.

Sascha and Nyree wowed pupils and staff at the school with a first-hand account of their success at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games before opening the new state-of-the-art pool, which has a constant current running through it and a new light and sound system.

Speaking at the opening Sascha said, "I've experienced first hand how a facility like this can help so I'm delighted to be able to open this pool and to witness the positive impact it will have on youngsters at the school.

Nyree said they were honoured to be there and told students: “When we were children at school we both used hydrotherapy pools, so I know what a great asset this pool is going to be for you guys.”

Watch Highlights of the European Swimming Championships on the BBC.

That's right folks, if you can't get enough of Paralympic Swimming, the BBC have put together a highlights programme from the IPC European Swimming Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, which will be shown on the 28th October between 12.20 and 01.10am.

So stay up late, set your Sky+ or even watch it on BBC iPlayer (will be on for one week) to see Sascha and the rest of the GB Paralympic Swim Team top the medal table in Iceland.

Click here for the link to the BBC page.

Sascha Wins Third Gold in Iceland

Sascha won his third Gold medal at this week's IPC European Championships in Iceland after streaking away in the 50M S6 Butterfly to touch home in a new European Record time of 32.28.

The win follows up Sascha's Golds in the 100M S7 Breaststroke and 200M SM6 Individual Medley earlier in the week and brings his medal tally for the Championships to four.

Commenting after the race Sascha said, “That was the third time that I have been on top of the podium at this Championships but that one was the sweetest. I lowered my personal best and the European record which was the aim for that race.

“I have worked hard on my Butterfly recently so I am really happy to have done that tonight," he added.

Sascha will now turn his attention to the 100M S6 Backstroke tomorrow in which he has an outside chance of picking up a fifth medal.

Check out:

British Swimming News

Official IPC European Championships Site

GB Win Silver in 4 x 50M Medley Relay

Sascha added a silver medal to his overall medal haul at this week's European Swimming Championships in Iceland as the GB 4 x 50M Medley Relay (20 points) Team stormed to second place in the last event of the day.

The team consisted of James Anderson (classification 2), Matthew Whorwood (6), Sascha Kindred (6) and Anthony Stephens (5). Sascha swam an excellent butterfly leg clocking 31.76 seconds but it was Anthony Stephens who stormed home to secure another Silver for Team GB.

Sascha Wins Double European Gold in Iceland

Sascha has added two Gold medals to his major championship medal haul so far this week picking up Gold in the 100M SB7 Breaststroke (on Monday) and Gold in the 200M SM6 Individual Medley (today) at the IPC European Swimming Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland. 

The Gold medals continue Sascha's winning streak in both his favored events at major championships and increase his major championships medal count to 41.

Sascha didn't have it all his own way though picking up Gold in the 100M SB7 Breaststroke after Thomas Young, one of Sascha's team mates, was disqualified. 

Young smashed his own personal best finishing in a time of 1:22.75 with Sascha finishing behind him in a time of 1:24.15, but Young was then disqualified handing Sascha the Gold.

Although Sascha was happy with his time in the race, he admitted that he hadn't wanted to win Gold the way he did.  “I'm obviously pleased I've retained my title, but to win it as a result of a disqualification wasn't something I wanted.  I'm disappointed for Thomas more than anything as he swam a great race.”

Thomas Young is one of two athletes, the other being Blake Cochrane of Australia, who have pushed Sascha all the way in the 100M SB7 Breaststroke recently and Sascha expects both to threaten his World Record at the World Championships in Rio later this year.

“These guys are gunning for me and I'm not surprised.  I've been here for over ten years now and they want my World Record.  I won't give it up easily though and I feel I can still go faster so it makes for some exciting racing ahead,” Sascha added.

Sascha had it all his own way in the 200M SM6 Individual Medley though, winning comfortably ahead of Ukrainian Yevheniy Bohodayko in second and fellow Brit Matthew Whorewood in third.  Looking for a good time, Sascha started off on World Record pace on the butterfly leg and pushed on further during the backstroke, but then tired towards the end to eventually finish with a time of 2:44.97.

Commenting on the race Sascha said, “I'm really pleased to have retained my title and to win Gold although I'm a little disappointed with my time.  I feel I could have gone faster and had wanted to go near to my World Record.

“Still, I can't be too disappointed as the time isn't that far off my old World Record and I believe I can still get stronger as we approach London 2012,” he added.

Sascha also featured in the 4 x 50M Freestyle Relay (20 points) today and narrowly missed getting a medal as Great Britain finished in 4 th place.  He'll now look forward to the 4 x 50M Medley Relay (20 points) on Thursday 22 nd October, the 50M S6 Butterfly on Friday 23 rd October and the 100M S6 Backstroke on Saturday 24 th October.

If you want to follow Sascha, his fiance and all the rest of the GB Team, tune into SKY CHANNEL 0144 between 19:00 and 21:00 today and tomorrow (22nd October) when there will be liver coverage from the IPC European Swimming Championships in Reykjavic, Iceland.

To listen live to tomorrow's finals tune into CHANNEL 0144 on Sky or go to BBC Radio.

If you want to follow Sascha, his fiance and all the rest of the GB Team, tune into SKY CHANNEL 0144 between 19:00 and 21:00 today and tomorrow (22nd October) when there will be liver coverage from the IPC European Swimming Championships in Reykjavic, Iceland.

SCHEDULE:

TODAY: Sascha will be defending his 200M Individual Medley title and also swimming in the 50M Freestyle Relay (20 points).

21st OCTOBER: Sascha will be swimming in the 4 x 50M Medley Relay (20 points)

You can also listen at: BBC Radio

Two days prior to the start of the 2009 IPC European Swimming Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, Sascha found some time to answer a few questions about his preparations and tells us he's feeling good...

Q: How are you feeling about the upcoming European Championships? Are you in good shape?

A: Yes. I feel like I'm in good shape and ready to give a strong performance. There's not as much pressure as there was compared to say the Paralympics in Beijing so I've been feeling fairly relaxed. I've also suprised myself with the times that I've been doing.

Q: Yeah. You of course broke you're own World Records in both your favoured events last year. To get near to that though, it's going to take some beating right?

A: Yeah, I don't think I can swim that quick in Iceland, but who knows. I wasn't expecting to break both World Records last year in Beijing. Yet I showed at the age of 30 I'm still there and still the one to beat and if I'm still getting quicker at the age of 30, why not at the age of 31?

Q: How many races are you competing in?

A: I'm competing in six events this year.

Q: Blimey, that's more than usual right?

A: Well, I've competed in six events before, but it's been a while since I swam six races in a major championships. Obviously there is more likelihood that I can feature in events that aren't my favourite as the rest of the world won't be there, but competition is definitely getting tougher so that's not guaranteed. 

Q: Yes, this is the first European Championships for eight years is it not?

A: That's right.  It's great as it shows that there are more athletes competing and that there is interest from countries around Europe to host the Championships and give it the financial support it requires.  Hopefully it will mean that the Europeans will be held more regularly and I don't have to wait eight years to defend my titles in future!

Q: Yes, let's hope so.  How well do you think you'll do overall then?

A: Well, I'm still ranked number one in the world in the 100M SB7 Breaststroke and the 200M SM6 Individual Medley and as my main rivals are from outside Europe, I'll go in as the strong favourite to retain my titles from the last European Championships in Sweden in 2001. I also have a strong chance of a medal in the 50M S6 Butterfly as I won a bronze at last year's Paralympic Games in Beijing and I'm ranked number one in Europe. Then I a good chance of picking up medals in the 20 Points 4x50M Freestyle Relay, the 20 Points 4x50M Medley Relay and the 100M S6 Backstroke. They're great races to take part in and it's great fun swimming as part of a group with fellow team mates, so I'm really looking forward to those.

Q: And for those that don't know, what does the 20 points mean when you race in a relay?

A: Well, each country is allowed four swimmers for a relay race, but the total classification of all four swimmers should not exceed 20 classification points. For example, a country could not choose four swimmers with a classification of eight or higher as this would exceed the 20 point limit. So, it's very tactical as the coach has to make the decision as to whether which four swimmers out of all classifications would produce the best time overall when swimming together.

Q: How has your training been going?

A: It's been going very well. I've not been doing as much as I did prior to Beijing but that's expected. Things will definitely start to get more intense at the turn of the year and as we get nearer to London 2012. At the moment I'm swimming seven sessions a week which is a lot less than usual and I've been surprised with the times I've been doing.

Q: And how has Nyree's training been going?

A: It's been going well too. Nyree is only swimming in two races, but she's really determined to swim well seeing as she missed out on qualification for the World Championships later this year.

Q: And what events is Nyree swimming in?

A: She's swimming in the 400M S6 Freestyle in which she's ranked fourth in the world and third in Europe, plus the 100M S6 Backstroke in which she's ranked number one in the world, so she should hopefully medal in both of them.

Q: Ok. And now onto whom else we should look out for on the GB team. Are there any athletes that you're expecting great things from?

A: Well, Eleanor Simmonds, Sam Hynd and Heather Frekerikson are likely to continue where they left off in Beijing and win quite a few medals between them, but I'd say keep an eye out for the Women's S9 events as we have three swimmers who are all ranked very highly. My one to watch there would be Louise Watkin as she's doing some great times, is a model athlete and should go on to do really well in London 2012. Look out for Claire Cashmore and Kate Grey too though who will both provide Louise with some tough competition. It should make for some great racing.

Aside from that, Matthew Walker, who won five medals in Beijing, will again be one to watch and will undoubtedly pick up a sack-ful of medals here too.

Q: Ok, well good luck as usual and see you when you get back.

Websites:

Official: Reykjavic - Iceland

British Swimming: Disability Swimming

BBC: Disability Sport

About:

The 2009 IPC Swimming European Championships will be taking place in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 18-24 October. The event will see an expected 650 athletes and staff, along with 37 participating countries. The planning stages of the 2009 IPC Swimming European Championships included a site visit from 25-26 July, with members from Iceland's NPC, the Swimming Federation, the National Anti-Doping Organization, and the Organizing Committee.

Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, Swimming has been one of the main sports of the Paralympics. Competitors measure their skills in Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly, Breaststroke and Medley events. Swimming is governed by the IPC and co-ordinated by the IPC Swimming Sport Technical Committee, which incorporates the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA).

Sascha travelled to Grantham Meres Leisure Centre in Lincolnshire today as part of the East Midlands Inclusive Youth Games, a Youth Sports Trust initiative and multi-sport regional finals day for young disabled athletes aged 11 to 19 from Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire.

Sascha, a School Sports Ambassador for the Youth Sports Trust, gave an opening address to athletes before touring the leisure centre's facilities and handing out medals to winners in a number of events including badminton, athletics, cricket, table tennis and wheelchair basketball.

Read more here.

Team 2012 was today launched at the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, with leading payment system Visa announced as its Presenting Partner. It represents a huge new ambition for British sport, and is the largest national team ever sponsored, comprising approximately 1200 athletes (including Sascha and his fiancé Nyree Lewis) from 47 sports and disciplines, Olympic and Paralympic alike.

Team 2012 will help realise the dreams and ambitions of all Britain's Olympic and Paralympic athletes and is a groundbreaking partnership between the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations (BOA and BPA), the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and UK Sport.  The four bodies came together earlier this year to create this initiative for Olympic and Paralympic sponsors to get behind the nation's top athletes aiming for London 2012 and beyond.   

Visa's sponsorship will help support sporting bodies as they provide the training and competition support needed for athletes aiming to become part of Team GB and ParalympicsGB at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The sponsorship deal, which runs through to 2012, is transformational for the partnership, ensuring Team 2012 is able to deliver on its ambition of providing extra funding for World Class Performance Programmes through a vital ‘third stream' of private sector income, which will sit alongside existing National Lottery and Government funding, for our most promising athletes. The launch marks the start of a major long term fundraising drive through to 2012 and beyond.

See further information here: Team 2012

Sascha and his fiancé Nyree Lewis were in Hereford town centre today to open a 'Centre of Excellence' for TPG DisabledAids, a leading supplier of disabled and mobility equipment for Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Wales.

The ‘Grand Opening' of the store was marked by a special open day event which saw manufacturers and suppliers visit TPG DisableAids and exhibit their products. In addition, training courses were run for healthcare professionals to see the style of training available in the future.

Demonstrations of all the products from hoists to stairlifts and from bathlifts to scooters were run throughout the day and Sascha and Nyree were available to speak to guests.

Speaking at the event, Sascha said, “We're delighted to be opening TPG's Centre of Excellence as it will provide a much needed outlet for the vital demonstration and training of essential mobility aids and we would certainly encourage anyone that might require training or a demonstration in the use of a mobility aid to visit the store.

Sascha and Nyree with the TPG DisabledAids Team

Exhibitors at the Opening of the Centre of Excellence

Yes that's right, it could really be you today if you buy a National Lottery ticket as our one and only Sascha Kindred will be starting the main draw on BBC1 tonight.

Well ok, a very good argument could be made about it not being you as the odds aren't great, but with Sascha starting the draw, who knows what might happen.

Whether it be in the pool, the bowling alley or even in a race to the shops, Sascha has always been a winner and he'll be hoping that his winning habit will rub off on those who need it most and of course, his army of supporters.

Sascha will be travelling down to the BBC with his fiancé Nyree Lewis and will appear on 'National Lottery: Guesstimation' at approximately 20:15 at which time he'll press the plunger to release those 'big money balls.'

Speaking about the draw Sascha said, "I'm very excited to starting the draw. The National Lottery is an institution now and is a fantastic way to raise money for good causes which might otherwise not exist. I'll obviously be hoping that someone I know wins it, but would like to wish the very best of luck to everyone who buys a ticket."

To go to the National Lottery website and checkout the 'what's on guide' click here.

To find out more about the show click here.

Today saw Sascha visit Rutland House School in Nottingham on behalf of Scope as part of the Schools 30th Anniversary Summer Fete and Fun day.

Sascha attended the day as Rutland School's guest of honour along with fiancé Nyree Lewis. After giving a speech, he and Nyree spent time talking to staff, pupils and family whilst also getting involved in the days activities, signing autographs and speaking to the media.

Rutland House School is run by Scope and provides specialist one-to-one educational & physical support to 11 children and young people between the ages of 5 and 19, most of whom have cerebral palsy or other related impairments.

The fete and fun day involved a variety of different activities including remote control boat racing, outdoor games, an ice cream stall, a pub area with pool and karaoke and an arts and crafts display. The day was organised as a celebration of the school's 30th Anniversary and also to raise funds for various school activities and resources.

Speaking about the event on the day Sascha said, "It is fantastic that Rutland House School has provided such important support for disabled people over the last 30 years and I'm delighted to be able to attend to help promote the day and visit its students."

"Having met many pupils from the school today, it's great to see how having a complex disability is no boundary to education or having a social life with your friends and I really feel that the school brilliantly meets the needs of these fantastic pupils I've met today," he added.

Richard White, Celebrity Manager at Scope said, "We were very grateful to Sascha and Nyree for giving up their limited free time on Sunday to come to the Rutland school 30th anniversary. Being young and successful they were the perfect ambassadors to attend an event for young disabled people. They were interested in the school and it's pupils and happy to work their way around the playground meeting everybody."

Tuesday 28th:

Today saw Sascha finish second in the 200M Multi Disability Individual Medley in a time of 2:44.44. Sascha finished second to Daniel Pepper (S14 classification) who set a few British Record in his classification and was closer to the S14 classification World Record, thus earning him more points than Sascha to win gold.

It was a decent swim for Sascha though who was only two seconds off his own world record in the SM6 category, a good sign of consistency with the European and World Championships taking place later this year.

Wednesday 29th:

Sascha swam a PB in this morning's heats of the 100M MD Freestyle with a time of 1.13.25. This is again great news as it's not one of Sascha's favoured events, yet bodes well, especially for the 200M SM6 Individual Medley which includes 50M Freestyle.

Thursday 30th:

Sascha won the 100M Multi Disability Breastroke in a time of 1:25.68 today. The time was just over three seconds off the World Record mark set at last year's Paralympic Games and earnt Sasch gold ahead of Mathew Whorwood and Daniel Pepper.

More results from the Championships will be posted as they come in.

For more information visit: British Swimming

Sascha travelled to West Sussex this weekend to visit a number of venues holding events as part of London 2012's Open Weekend, an annual UK-wide celebration counting down to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On Saturday Sascha visited the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, a centre which will be home to one of the many Olympic and Paralympic teams taking part in the games in three year's time. Here he met the local mayor before touring the facilities and posing for photos with fans. Then in the afternoon he visited The Pavillions in Horsham to assist with a Competitive Swimming Workshop in which he gave advice on swimming technique and starts and turns to swimmers.

On Sunday Sascha visited Steyning Leisure Centre in Horsham, kicking off a swimming workshop before touring the facilities and signing autographs for swimmers. Later he travelled to the Worthing Aquarena in Worthing to meet the local mayor and meet and greet members of the public.

Following his travels Sascha said, "I'm delighted to be involved in London 2012's Open Weekend and hopefully inspire others to take part in sport. I've been particularly impressed by some of the facilities I've seen in the Sussex area and would encourage people to come out and take part in sporting activities whether it's just to have fun with their kids or to compete."

To read more about the London 2012 Open Weekend visit: Click Here

Sascha will be making appearances at various venues across West Sussex this weekend as part of the London 2012 Open Weekend, an annual UK-wide celebration counting down to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

During the weekend there will be a range of activities from culture, sport, sustainability and learning to encourage people to do something new and different.

Sascha will be appearing at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley and the Pavillions in the Park at Horsham on Saturday and then Steyning Leisure Centre in Horsham and Worthing Aquarena in Worthing on Sunday.

To read more about the London 2012 Open Weekend visit: Click Here

Sascha and his fiancé Nyree Lewis were officially appointed county ambassadors for Herefordshire and Worcestershire County today as part the county's drive to inspire young athletes within the region.

The Worcestershire and Herefordshire Olympic and Paralympic Group will be launching their 2012 Olympic Ambassador Group this autumn and Sascha, Nyree and the Hereford-based England and Great Britain blind football team will be among the county's ambassadors.

Having lived and trained in Hereford for the last three years, Sascha and Nyree have become well known within the county having appeared at many events and picked up numerous awards for their sporting achievements.

Speaking of his appointment Sascha said, "I'm delighted to be able to help the Olympic and Paralympic Group promote sport to young athletes and hope that we can help inspire them to become the next generation of sporting superstars."

Read an article from the Hereford Times here: Click Here

This week saw Sascha visit schools in the North West and Midland regions of England as part of the Lloyds TSB National School Sports Trust Week.

The week which runs from 29 June to 3 July, aims to inspire millions of young people in more than 10,000 schools across the country to take part in more sport.

Over 80 schools in Warwickshire, including Alderman Smith School and Sports College, and 100 schools in Lancashire, including Corpus Christie Catholic Sports College in Preston, have pledged to participate in Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week which supports the Government's PE and Sport Strategy for Young People.

Sascha visited Corpus Christie Catholic Sports College on Monday 29th July and Alderman Smith School on 30th July to celebrate the arrival of the initiative in the regions.

Corpus Christie Catholic Sports College was selected because it had some exciting activities planned for Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week including a Giant Wake-up and Shake-up event involving tens of thousands of young people across Lancashire. Here Sascha got involved with the day's activities which included the Giant Wake-up and Shake-up event, plus various intra-school competitions.

Alderman Smith School and Sports College was selected because of its activities for Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week which included athletics, benchball and mini-tennis. Here Sascha showed pupils a DVD of his gold medal swims in Beijing and talked to them about his experiences as a Paralympic athlete. Following this, Sascha was shown around the school before visiting classes in which Olympic themes were being used for lessons.

Commenting on his visits Sascha said, "As a school sports ambassador and athlete myself, I'm delighted to be involved in this great initiative and to be able to help influence young people's participation in sport."

"Sport can play a fantastic part in young people's lives and open the door to many exciting opportunities and as we get close to London 2012, it's important that we do all that we can to inspire young people to take part in as much quality PE and sport as possible," he added.

It was good news this weekend for Sascha as he ensured his place on the British Swimming Team going to the World Championships in Rio, Brazil later this year.

Swimming in four events this weekend, Sascha ensured qualification with a 2:45.41 swim in the 200M Indviidual Medley. He was just outside qualification in his other events, but it means that Sascha will be going to Rio no matter what and will more than likely swim in all his favored events, the 100M Breaststroke, 200M Individual Medley and the 50M Butterfly.

More details soon.

Sascha was again off on his travels as he visited a Playground to Podium event in Cheltenham today to talk with future Paralympic hopefuls about his experiences as a disabled athlete.

Today's event, organised by the Amateur Swimming Association, saw young athletes from the region gather at the Leisure@ Centre in Cheltenham to take part in several sports sessions in the hope of picking out stars of the future.

Sascha mingled and talked with several athletes including 13 year-old Tom Dowan, a promising Boccia player who is hoping to make it as a Paralympian. After the morning session, Sascha then inspired athletes even more as he showed them a DVD of his gold medal swims in Beijing and talked to them about his swimming career.

Speaking during the event Sascha said, "These events are a great way to spot potential stars and I'm delighted to be here to help encourage them to achieve their dreams."

"When I first started swimming about 20 years ago there was nothing like this to spot disability talent and help identify potential athletes, bring them through and hopefully fast track them to the Paralympic Games," he added.

Sascha is mentioned in an article in the Daily Telegraph today.

Read more here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/schoolsports/5699607/Mark-Foster-and-Jason-Gardener-help-launch-National-School-Sport-Week-2009.html

Solihull News - 'Paralympian Joins Search for Next Hero'

Lancashire Evening Post - 'Schools Want Wake Up Record'

PRESS RELEASE:

A gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer was among the waves of people who attended an event organised to identify the region's next sporting heroes.

The special disability talent identification day, organised by CSW Sport in partnership with the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games, was held at the University of Warwick this week.

Over 40 young athletes, including pupils from schools in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, attended the event, which is part of the Sport England national Playground to Podium scheme.

Six-time Paralympic gold medal winner, Sascha Kindred had been invited to speak at the event on Thursday (June 18).

The Hereford-based swimmer said: “The role today's Paralympians can play in inspiring the next generation is massive.

“When I was first starting out there was no one to look up to, the media coverage was all about the mainstream athletes and I would watch and think ‘I can never compete with that'.

“But now we see people like Ellie Simmons showing what can be achieved.

“It is motivation for me when I compete, it feels good to know I am giving people a goal, it's about giving something back.”

Youngsters from across the region took part in a variety of sports including wheelchair basketball, athletics, football and table tennis

Tom Clift, partnership manager for the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games, said: “It was great to have Sascha here today, he gave a fantastic talk and it was a perfect example of how the athletes of today can play an important role by inspiring the next generation of Olympians and Paralympians.

“People often forget the Paralympic Games are the second largest sporting event in world only to the Olympics, therefore, events like today can only help in encouraging and raising the profile of disability sport”.

Tracy Murphy, from CSW Sport, said it was great to see so many young people participating in the activities.

“We were thrilled to have so many eager young athletes at the event and it looked as though they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves,” she said.

“There was a lot of talent on display at the event, and who knows, we may have unearthed the region's next Paralympic heroes.

“Over the next three years the region will produce more young athletes than ever as the country takes inspiration from the forthcoming 2012 Games and we are determined to identify, nurture and support these talented individuals as they aim to achieve their goals.”

Many congratulations go out to Sascha Kindred's fiancé Nyree Lewis for being recognised with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list today.

Her MBE has been awarded for her services to Disability Sport having represented Great Britain for over 10 year's at three Paralympic Games and amassing a total of nine Paralympic medals including two gold.

Speaking of the announcement, Nyree said, "I'm really pleased to be recognised and wasn't expecting this at all so when I was told about it I couldn't quite believe it. I'm delighted though, as it's great to be recognised by your country for all the year's of hard work and training you put in over the year."

Well done Nyree.

British Team Announced for the 2009 European Championships

It's good news for Sascha as he has been announced among a 39-strong team to represent Britain at the IPC Swimming European Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland later this year.

The team features 26 athletes that competed at the Beijing Paralympics including Sascha, eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist David Robert and double Paralympic gold medallist Eleanor Simmonds.

The nine-day meet, which takes place from 18th - 26th October, will see a total of nine Paralympic Champions ready to test themselves against the best in European Disability Swimming.

It will be Sascha's fifth European Championships having swum in his first back in 1997 in France at which he won his first ever major Championship gold medal coming first in the 100M SB6 Breaststroke. Since then, Sascha has won a further 15 European Championship medals including eight golds.

Sascha will most likely swim in the 100M SB6 Breaststroke, 200M SM6 Individual Medley, 50M S6 Butterfly and 100M S6 Backstroke at this year's championships, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Commenting on his selection Sascha said, "It's great to be going to my fifth European Championships and to be able to defend my titles yet again. My first championships seems so long ago now but I'm more hungry than ever to add to my medal tally."

For more information please visit www.britishswimming.org.

Sascha was recently interviewed by HemiHelp for their spring edition of HemiHelp Magazine in which they talk about growing up with their disabilities and about winning gold for Great Britain.

Read more here:

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British Team Announced for the 2009 European Championships

It's good news for Sascha as he has been announced among a 39-strong team to represent Britain at the IPC Swimming European Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland later this year.

The team features 26 athletes that competed at the Beijing Paralympics including Sascha, eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist David Robert and double Paralympic gold medallist Eleanor Simmonds.

The nine-day meet, which takes place from 18th - 26th October, will see a total of nine Paralympic Champions ready to test themselves against the best in European Disability Swimming.

It will be Sascha's fifth European Championships having swum in his first back in 1997 in France at which he won his first ever major Championship gold medal coming first in the 100M SB6 Breaststroke. Since then, Sascha has won a further 15 European Championship medals including eight golds.

Sascha will most likely swim in the 100M SB6 Breaststroke, 200M SM6 Individual Medley, 50M S6 Butterfly and 100M S6 Backstroke at this year's championships, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Commenting on his selection Sascha said, "It's great to be going to my fifth European Championships and to be able to defend my titles yet again. My first championships seems so long ago now but I'm more hungry than ever to add to my medal tally."

For more information please visit www.britishswimming.org.

Sascha Wins Two Golds at DSE Nationals in Sheffield

Here is a brief run down of how Sascha did at this weekend's National Championships in Sheffield:

In the mens MD 100M Breaststroke, Sascha collected the gold medal in a time of 1:24.58.

In the Mens MD 50M Butterfly, Sascha collected the gold medal in a time of 32.71.

In the mens MD 100M Backstroke, Sascha didn't make the final finishing ninth overall but finished first in his classification (S6) with a time of 1:28.00.

Although Sascha finished third overall in the heats of the mens MD 200M Individual Medley, he was unfortunately disqualified in the final.

Read more at www.britishswimming.org.

Sascha and fellow GB Team members were hoping to post good times in their events in order to qualify for the European Championships in Rome later this year. Sascha should make the squad in all three of his favoured events including the 200M Individual Medley. Watch this space as the squad will be announced later this week.

Sascha Appointed School Sports Ambassador by the Youth Sports Trust.

The Youth Sports Trust today officially appointed five of Great Britain's most successful Olympic and Paralympic athletes 'School Sports Ambassadors', including our very own Sascha Kindred.

Joined by heptathlete Denise Lewis, Sprinter Jason Gardener, Badminton player Gail Emms and sailor Joe Glanfield in London, Sascha attended a briefing with members of the Youth Sports Trust and will now work with the Trust to help inspire more children to take part in PE and school sport.

The quintet will visit schools and sporting events across the country to support the Youth Sport Trust's initiatives and help increase young people's enjoyment of sport as participants, competitors, coaches, leaders, volunteers and young officials.

Speaking after the briefing Sascha said, "I'm very excited about this appointment and am looking forward to working with the Youth Sports Trust and the other ambassadors. As athletes ourselves, we have a responsibility to use our influence, pass on our knowledge and encourage others to take part in and enjoy sport and I'm delighted to be involved."

Sascha with Denise Lewis, Gail Emms, Jason Gardener and Joe Glanfield

To read the official press release please visit: Youth Sports Trust

Sascha and partner Nyree present awards at charity event

Sascha and his partner Nyree Lewis took time off yesterday to attend an annual award ceremony – The Spirit of Fire Awards – hosted by The Fire Fighters Charity.

Held at Wembley Stadium in London, the awards ceremony celebrated the remarkable acts of bravery that had taken place within the UK's fire and rescue service over the past twelve months as well as dedication to the Charity.

Sascha and Nyree attended to present an award in one of ten categories along with other celebrities including Strictly Come Dancing's Bruce Forsyth, Sprinter Darren Campbell, former footballer David Ginola and Ski Sunday's Graham Bell.

Sascha and Nyree had opened a swimming pool for the Fire Fighters Charity at its recuperation Centre in Littlehampton in West Sussex earlier in the year and were delighted to be at the event presenting an award.

“These men and women put their lives on the line every day for the British public and it i's a real honour to be here amongst them. They are the true heroes of our nation and my respect goes out to each and every one of them,” said Sascha.

The pinnacle award of the evening was the UK 's Bravest Fire Fighter which was presented to Ian Tape and Grant Baugh from Rotherham . Fire Minister Sadiq Kahn MP presented this award with former footballer David Ginola, who had flown over from France especially to be at the event.

For further details visit: The Fire Fighters Charity

Sascha was recently interviewed by Paul Carter from Disability Now Magazine. Within the article Sascha talks about meeting the Queen, Beijing's Legacy and the future of Paralympic Swimming.

Read more here:

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Sascha swam at the CP Sport National Swimming Championships in Nottingham this weekend wining two gold medals in the 50M Breaststroke and 50M Butterfly. His wins were followed up with an announcement by CP Sport that he had also won 'CP Swimmer of the Year'.

At the event, Sascha had a chance to mingle with younger swimmers and met Melton swimmer Jack Knight who is a huge fan of his. Read an article in the Melton Times for futher details here.

Below are links to some recent news coverage that Sascha has been in...

8th April - BBC Sport - Midlands Sports Award Pictures (pics 2 & 6)

6th April - Redditch Advertiser - Awards Success for Sporty Town Teens

3rd April - BBC Sport - Paralympians at the Palace Pictures (pic 12)

27th March - Medway Messenger - Paralympic Swimmer's proud mum

20th March - Press Association - MBE for 'emotional' boxer DeGale

Sascha and his family visited Buckingham Palace today to see The Queen officially appoint him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Sascha was one of approximately 90 recipients at the Palace, each either picking up an MBE, OBE, CBE or Knighthood. Number 25 on the running sheet, Sascha waited patiently with the other recipients as The Queen honoured each individual, speaking briefly to all of them.

When it was finally Sascha's turn, Sascha proudly walked up to greet the Queen and receive his OBE. Afterwards he said, "It's amazing to receive such an honour and to be recognised by your country for your achievements and to receive the honour from HRH the Queen herself is just the tip of the iceberg and has rounded of a fantastic year for me."

Today's Investiture is one of 25 Investitures held each year; one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and the remainder at Buckingham Palace.

Sascha swam in his first competition of the year today at the British National Championships in Sheffield, competing against his fellow Paralympic team mates and other British athletes in the Multi Disibility 100M Breaststroke.

Sascha took the gold medal in the event in a time of 1:25.57 and took 886 points ahead of Dave Ellis in the S13 category who finished in a time of 1:11.74 scoring a total of 731 points.

Multi Disability races are often held when there are fewer athletes in the field and thus it is the closest to the World Record in their specific category that wins.

Speaking after his race Sascha said, "I'm pretty happy with my swim, especially as I've not been in full training yet. It's definitely no where near my best, but I'm sure that'll come later in the year before the Europeans."

Sascha now turns his attention to tomorrow's 200M Individual Medley race, also a Multi Disability event.

Sascha picked up his second Senior Sportsman of the Year Award today at the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sports Awards 2009.

The award follows his triumph last month at the Herefordshire Sports Awards at which he also scooped the top honour of Senior Sportsman of the Year.

Speaking at the awards dinner hosted at Worcester Rugby Club Sascha said, "It's fantastic to receive this honour and be in the mix with so many other talented sportsmen and women across the region. They all deserve to win just as much as me and I look forward to hearing about their successes at London 2012".

Runners up in his category were Jamie Melia from Team Melia and Andrew Walters from Broadway Bowling Club.

Sascha and his partner Nyree Lewis are were interviewed by the BBC on the back of picking up the Senior Sportsman and Senior Sportswoman of the Year Honours at the Herefordshire Sports Awards yesterday.

Listen: Click Here

Sascha and his partner Nyree Lewis will scoop top honours at next week's 2008 Herefordshire Sport's Awards picking up the awards for Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year respectively.

The news follows an incredible year for both Sascha and Nyree who competed in their fourth and third Paralympic Games respectively.

Sascha added two gold medals and a bronze at last year's Paralympic Games in Beijing with both gold medal swims resulting in World Record Times. The double gold made it a 'triple-double' of gold medals in three successive Games in the 200M SM6 Individual Medley and 100M SB7 Breaststroke.

Following his medal success, Sascha was awarded an OBE for his services to disability sport having dedicated over 15 year's of his life to swimming and amassing 11 Paralympic medals from four Paralympic Games in the process, the first being a silver at Atlanta in 1996.

Commenting on the award Sascha said, "Since returning from Beijing the response from the local community and Herefordshire region has been fantastic and I'm delighted to have been recognised as Sportsperson of the Year.

"The last year has been fantastic for both of us, exceeding my wildest dreams and I can only hope that I continue to produce the goods for Great Britain on route to London 2012 in three and a half years time."

Nyree also enjoyed a remarkable year winning a silver medal in the women's 100M S6 Backstroke in Beijing following a gold medal and two bronze medal swims at the British Championships.

Shortly after Beijing, Sascha and Nyree also announced their engagement.

You can read coverage from the Hereford Times at: Click Here

Sascha joined wheelchair athlete and fellow Paralympic Medalist Mickey Bushell at Kidderminster Town Station today to launch a new wheelchair accessible carriage on the Severn Valley Railway Line.

The new carriage allows for easier access for wheelchair users and people with a disability onto Severn Valley Railway trains and is the fourth new carriage to be added to its fleet in the past year.

Sascha and Mickey travelled on the carriages maiden journey and were towed by a steam engine from Kidderminster to Bridgenorth and back. On the return journey, Sascha joined the driver at the front of the train and helped drive the train back to Kidderminster.

Commenting on the launch Sascha said, "Improving access to ensure services like this are available to everyone, including people with a disability, is extremely important to me. Severn Valley Railway's new carriage will make it easier for everyone to travel around the valley and I'm pleased to have had the opportunity to get involved."

I am delighted to announce that Sascha has been recognised on this year's UK Honours List and has received an OBE for his services to Disabled Sport in Great Britain.

The award comes after a fantastic Paralympic year which saw Sascha defend his two Paralympic titles for the second time as well as obtain two World Records in the process.

Sascha has been one of Great Britain's longest serving Paralympic athletes, originally joining the British Paralympic Team back in 1993 at the age of 16 having narrowly missed out on going to the Paralympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. Since then, Sascha has amassed a total of 39 major championship medals including six Paralympic golds.

Sascha said, "It's an amazing honour. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that this would happen and I am so proud."

For more news see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7804822.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/7805260.stm

Sascha along with fellow Paralympians Eleanor Simmonds and David Roberts, have received an award by British Swimming for 'Oustanding Achievement' for his swimming achievements between 2005 and 2008.

Sascha was presented his award by British Swimming Head Coach Lars Humer and Performance Director Tim Reddish in Swansea prior to this weekend's Welsh Disability Long Course Championships.

After receiving the award Sascha said, "It's great to receive this award and be recognised for all the hard work that we put in year in year out to stay at the top. This is an award not only for me, but all my fellow Paralympians who also dedicate their lives to representing Great Britain."

Sascha and his partner Nyree, will be swimming at the Welsh Disability Long Course Championships in Swansea this weekend.

The Championship is the first National Open that Sascha will be swimming since his triumph in Beijing in September.

Sascha will be swimming the 100M Breaststroke SB4 - SB9 Multi Disability event on Saturday 13th. The majority of events over the weekend are multi-disability which means that athletes will be swimming against other athletes in different classifications. The winner will be the one who is closest to the World Record mark ensuring fast times all round.

In the 100M Breaststroke Sascha will be up against fellow Paralympians Anthony Stephens (S5), Matthew Walker (SB7), Matthew Whorewood (SB7), Sam Hynd (S8) and Dave Ellis (SB13).

Sascha will then be in action again in the 200M Individual Medley SM5 - SM15 Multi Disability event. Here he'll be up against Andrew Lindsay (SM7), David Roberts (SM7), Matthew Whorewood (SM6) and Sam Hynd (S8).

To find out more about the event, programme and sessions times click here.

The athletes will be in High Town for a ‘Celebration of Success’ from 6pm next Wednesday.

The Credenhill couple are being toasted for their swimming triumphs in Beijing at Leominster Leisure Centre.

Pupils from the Minster School will be greeting the couple on their arrival to the Coningsby Road leisure centre next Friday.

Kindred and Lewis arrived back in the country last Thursday after playing their part in helping Great Britain to second place in the Paralympic medal table.

The duo have since received a host of cards, e-mails and messages from well-wishers.

The pair, who have been together for 12 years, were even treated to a free meal by a Herefordshire pub.

Kindred, 30, explained: “We had a meal at the Bell Inn at Tillington the other day and they told us it was on the house. We were overwhelmed by their kindness.”

Kindred had an outstanding Games, winning golds in the 100-metre breaststroke and the 200-metre individual medley.

He also took bronze in the men’s 50-metre butterfly.

Welsh-born Lewis, who was 28 last Sunday, won a silver medal in the women’s 100-metre backstroke.

Since arriving home, there has been little respite for the Leominster Kingfishers pair who are now taking a welcome break from their training after an intensive year.

They haven’t had time to sit down with their full-time coach, Emma Patrick, who also lives in Credenhill.

Kindred and Lewis were in Cardiff Bay on Monday for Welsh Paralympians’ homecoming.

Lewis was led to the front steps of the Senedd by a traditional Chinese dragon and received a reception from hundreds of people.

“It’s our aim to promote the Paralympics and try to encourage other people to get into sport,” said Lewis.

“We also hope to show that being disabled does not necessarily need to hold you back.”

Kindred and Lewis, who both have cerebral palsy, have been leading lights in British swimming for a number of years.

Kindred has completed a remarkable hat-trick of gold medals in the 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley at three successive Paralympic Games.

Kindred said: “I am calling my success a triple double - and that’s what I set out to achieve in Beijing. I could definitely see myself at London 2012, but we will have to see what happens.”

Lewis was naturally upset to lose the 100-metre backstroke title which she had won at Athens four years ago.

But she said: “I am less disappointed now than when I was out in Beijing. I am proud to win a silver because it’s still a very good honour. Everyone works hard in Paralympic year and to go to the Paralympics is the highest achievement in our sport. That was my third Paralympics and it was by far the best. The standard of competition in the pool was awesome and the Chinese put on an amazing show.”

The couple made Herefordshire their home in January 2006 and both paid tribute to their coach and Halo Leisure for giving them valuable pool time.

Kindred added: “We like it in Herefordshire - we like the rural life and the fabulous countryside. The people are very friendly too and have a lot of time for us.”

l Watch a video interview with Sascha Kindred and Nyree Lewis at: herefordtimes.com

Sascha continued to impress at the Paralympic Games in Beijing adding a bronze to his medal tally in the 50m S6 Butterfly event.

Sascha finished behind Qing Xu of China and Kyosuke Oyama of Japan with Xu winning in a new World Record time of 30.79. Sascha finished in a time of 32.49.

The event was extra special for Sascha as he had only seriously taken it up in 2007 but quickly established himself as one of the quickest in the world. In 2008, Sascha won Gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester ahead of the then world number one Igor Plotnikov, however, Sascha new that a medal here would be a bonus.

Yet with two Gold medals and two World Records in the bag, the weight of expectation seemed to have been lifted and Sascha gritted his teeth to secure bronze and ensure the weight of his luggage on the way home would be even heavier.

Congratulations to Sascha on a super performance.

Sascha stormed his way to his second gold of the Paralympic Games in Beijing winning the 100m SB7 Breaststroke in a new World Record time of 1:22.19.

The win takes Sascha's Paralympic Gold medal count to a total of six following the defence of his 200m SM6 Individual Medley title two days ago.

Sascha, who qualified in first place earlier in the morning was expecting much of the competition to come from two of his main rivals Peng Li and Tomotaro Nakamura from Japan and China respectively, yet it was Blake Cochrane from Australia who surprised everyone by smashing his personal best by over 9 seconds to qualify second fastest in the heats.

Knowing he'd already swam his fastest time of the year, Sascha knew he'd have to go even faster in the final to hold of the fast improving Cochrane as well as his other rivals. All were neck and neck throughout the first length with Sascha edging slightly ahead at the halfway point, but as we saw in the 200m SM6 Individual Medley final earlier in the week, Sascha once again dug deep to find even more energy and stretch his lead over the final 25m to win by over a second, smashing his own World Record in the process to beat Cochrane (1:23.36) and Rudy Garcia Tolsen from the USA (1:24.01).

Commenting after the race Sascha said, "I knew that would be tough. My breaststroke hasn't been there this year but I owe this to my coach Emma Patrick and the support I have had from British Swimming.”

Sascha produced a scintillating performance on the first day of the Paralympic Games in Beijing to win and successfully defend his 200m SM6 Individual Medley for the second Paralympic Games in a row.

Sascha, who broke his own Paralympic Record in the heat, finished first in a new World Record time of 2:42.19 ahead of China’s Yuanrun Yang and Quing Xu (2:43.85 and 2:48.45 respectively).

The tension before the race was unbearable as Great Britain looked to secure their first Gold in the pool of the games. Sascha was expecting a tough race and was tested all the way by Yang who led up to the halfway mark, but as expected, Sascha began to pull away on his specialist stroke, the Breaststroke. Yang again came back on the final length, but Sascha dug deep to hold him off and make it a hat-rick of Gold medals at the distance.

Kindred said: "That is five Paralympic gold medals and I am very proud of myself. The Paralympics is the pinnacle of an athlete's career and to do my fastest time here is fantastic.

"Everyone is watching back at the village and I know my gold will inspire them all."

Watching in the crowd were Sascha's mother Beatrice, his twin Timo and friend's Simon, Sam and Suzy. Timo said after the race, “I couldn’t speak beforehand but now I can’t stop screaming. We’ve had a long standing joke between us as Sascha’s always breaking records but not when I’m watching him, so it’s the icing on the cake to witness such a great race and in a record time too.”