Paralympics Athletes Win Premier Farnell Sponsorship

Joe, a fellow morning swimmer at my local pool lost a leg in a motor cycle accident. He does an hour long swim every day and he puts in the effort too.

I can only admire the guy and his determination, and those like him, so it's great to see Premier Farnell take up sponsorship of three athletes aiming at the 2012 Paralympics in London. (Travelled past the stadiums on the train this week and they are looking fantastic by the way).

As befits a global distributor Premier Farnell has chosen an athlete from each major geographic region.

The European competitor is British cyclist David Stone, who suffers from cerebral palsy. He's been cycling since he was eight, specialises in time trials and picked up two gold medals at the Beijing Games. Now he's aiming for success on home soil.

Nuralasviqah Mohammad Taha (I suspect the commentators will settle for Taha) is from Singapore, and is an ace at boccia. I must admit I hadn't heard of this sport before. It's an indoor ball game which requires plenty of skill and is designed for individuals with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or other neurological-based forms of severe physical disabilities. Nurul has put Singapore on the map in boccia, having competed in international and regional competitions.

Representing north America is Sam Kavanagh. He's a sprint cyclist who took up the sport after he lost part of his left leg in an avalanche accident. He wants to achieve success at the 2012 Games, and to inspire others to overcome obstacles in their lives, and to achieve what they are capable of with no regrets. He sounds like a bloke who'll never die wondering!!

Along with the sponsorship, Premier Farnell plans to promote some of the latest innovations in sports technology via a special Sport Technology portal on its element14 e-community web site for design engineers. The portal will also feature blogs from the three athletes. Go to http://www.element-14.com/community/groups/sport-technology.

“Sam, David and Nurul are remarkable individuals who embody the high performance traits that we at Premier Farnell truly value,” said Harriet Green, chief executive officer of Premier Farnell. “They are an inspiration to all and throughout the next two years we will celebrate their progress, support them in their goals and work with them to understand the role that technology plays in their sporting achievements.”