POSTED: Monday June 11th 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIVE WEIGHTLIFTERS SELECTED TO TEAM GB FOR LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS

With just 46 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympics, the British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced today five weightlifters as officially selected to compete for Team GB at the Games.

The five selected athletes - three men and two women - represent the largest contingent of weightlifters Team GB has taken to an Olympics Games since Barcelona 1996, when there were six British weightlifters.

All five athletes will be competing at their first Olympic Games in London and will be aiming to produce their personal best during the competition which takes place at the ExCeL Arena in London Docklands from 28th July to 7th August.

The weightlifters selected to Team GB today are:

Gareth Evans - Men’s 69kg
Peter Kirkbride - Men’s 94kg
Jack Oliver - Men’s 77kg
Natasha Perdue - Women’s 69kg
Zoe Smith - Women’s 58kg
CLICK HERE to view full athlete profiles

The squad includes Welsh duo Gareth Evans and Natasha Perdue, who will compete in the men and women’s 69kg categories respectively. Gareth gave up his job as a painter and decorator in Holyhead to pursue his Olympic dream and train full time at the Weightlifting Performance Centre in Leeds. Although he will be competing in his first Olympic Games, Gareth has experience of performing on the international stage after finishing third at the Commonwealth Championships in South Africa last year.

Swansea-born Natasha was a former national Karate Champion before she switched to weightlifting. She has had to combine her full-time training regime with her day job at the refuse department of Leeds City Council in the build up to the Games. By competing at London 2012, she is following in her father Terry’s footsteps, who represented Great Britain at the Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972 Olympic Games, finishing tenth on both occasions.

Eighteen-year-old Zoe Smith is the youngest member of the team and will compete in the Women’s 58kg category. Originally a gymnast, she switched to weightlifting aged 13 and has broken youth, junior and senior records on her way to Olympic selection. She displayed her exciting talent and potential by claiming bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games at just 16 years old.

Peter Kirkbride, 24, who won silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and 21-year-old Jack Oliver who has been weightlifting since the age of 14, complete the weightlifting squad.

The athletes were formally nominated to the BOA for selection to Team GB by British Weight Lifting, the National Governing Body for weightlifting in the UK.

CLICK HERE to read full article and for athlete reactions

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About Team 2012:

Team 2012, presented by Visa, is the official support programme for British athletes striving to be selected for Team GB and ParalympicsGB in 2012.

Alongside National Lottery and Exchequer funding, Team 2012 helps to raise funds to support 1,200 athletes from 47 Olympic and Paralympic sports and disciplines who are in training to be selected for Team GB and ParalympicsGB at London 2012. Funds raised are invested in six key areas across 47 different Olympic and Paralympic sporting disciplines:

Coaching and athlete management
International travel to both compete and train abroad
Medical support including sports psychology, physiotherapy, nutrition and intensive rehabilitation
Facilities
Kit and equipment
Home Games preparations e.g. preparation camps
For more information on Team 2012, visit http://www.team-2012.com

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Keywords · British Olympic Association · weightlifting · BOA

Name: British Olympic Association Communications Team
Organization: British Olympic Association
Email:
Phone: 442078425700
URL: http://www.olympics.org.uk

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