Year to go: Rio Paralympics will be huge - Dame Sarah Storey
Tuesday 8 September 2015 10:15, UK
Cycling champion Dame Sarah Storey says the Paralympics has the power to continue leaving a lasting legacy on the host nation.
The 11-time Paralympic champion was speaking to Sky Sports News HQ with a year to go until the showpiece in Brazil gets under way and she is determined to impress yet again on the sport's biggest stage.
"Look at what happened to China after Beijing in 2008 and the legacy that the Paralympics left," the 37-year-old from Manchester said.
"There were new laws brought in to make sure disabled people had better rights and millions of buildings were changed so they were more accessible.
"And look at the 2012 Games. Perceptions changed in the UK after London towards people with impairment and disability. It shows these Games have a huge power around it.
"In South America that will hopefully happen again with Rio and perhaps even on a greater scale because the Paralympics is so well known now."
The Paralympics run from 7-18 September next year and will involve 4,350 athletes from 178 countries competing in 22 sports. Around 250 athletes will make up Team GB.
The team secured 120 medals, including 34 golds, at London 2012 and finished third behind China and Russia on the medal table. With over £72m invested in summer Paralympic sport, UK Sport is hoping this haul will be beaten in Rio.
Storey added: "The British team won 120 medals at London and that was a huge target.
"We were down on the golds won from Beijing but winning medals is what the funding is all about. It will be a tough task to better that but every single sport is working hard to see that achieved.
"We have new sports like para-canoeing and para-triathlon. They have some incredible athletes in their squads and will help to bolster our medal target.
"Everybody is working hard and the qualification period is not finished just yet and we'll see what the selectors decide next summer."
After scooping four golds at the London Games, Storey revealed she will aim to defend all of these events.
She stated: "It will be a huge task to defend them but I like a good challenge! I will be working across all four disciplines.
"I won all four events at the World Championships on the track in March and on the road in July. So I'm looking forward to a strong winter on the road and I'll be starting to road race early next year after the track World Championships and get a perfect build-up to Rio.
"I did my first Games aged 14 in 1992. I was with Tanni Grey-Thompson and to get the support of athletes like that was vital to succeed at a young age.
"It's good to have a mix of young and old athletes and hopefully we can bolster each other to get some great performances in Brazil. I'm really excited to see the whole team and meet new faces in the Paralympics village as well."
