The Azerbaijan Paralympics Committee is taking advantage of the fantastic facilities at Stoke Mandeville Stadium by flying its athletes over in May and June to prepare for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The 23 athletes and 10 officials will be staying in the Olympic Lodge.
Azerbaijan made its Paralympics Games debut at the 1996 Summer Paralympics and has won a total of 15 Paralympic medals to date. As an established Paralympics team the athletes take their training very seriously and will be concentrating on Athletics, Judo, Archery and Powerlifting during their time at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
Ian Seabrook, Business Development Manager at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, said:
“We’re really looking forward to the arrival of the Azerbaijan team and are confident they will enjoy training with us due to the fact we have some of the best facilities in the UK. The Saudi Powerlifting Team, the Finish Athletics, Wheelchair Rugby Squads and the Icelandic Athletics and Swimmers have all trained at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.”
Ramin Kasamanski, Paralympic Attaché, said: “We are so pleased that our athletes are able to train at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, given the high level of equipment and quality service, I think they will find this time extremely beneficial to their Paralympics preparations.”