| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 15 August 1984 Chelmsford, England |
Medal record | |
Daniel James Bentley [1] (born 15 August 1984 in Chelmsford) is a Paralympic boccia player with cerebral palsy. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics he was part of the first British team to win gold at boccia at the Paralympics, in the Team BC1-2 category. [2] He competed again as part of the team for Great Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics, taking bronze in the Team BC1–2 event. [3]
Boccia is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984, it became a Paralympic sport and as of 2020, 75 boccia national organizations have joined one or more of the international organizations. Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of only two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program.
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Great Britain sent a delegation of around 400, of which 212 were athletes, to compete in eighteen sports at the Games. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who may elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics. Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.
Boccia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of seven events. The competitions were held in the Beijing National Convention Center from September 7 to September 12.
Nigel Patrick Murray is a British Paralympic athlete. He is twelve time English National Champion and seven time British Champion and multiple Paralympic medal winner in the sport of boccia.
Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville. Five boccia events were held at those games, two for men, two for women, and one mixed event where men and women competed together. Since then, all boccia events at the Paralympics have been mixed. Athletes in this sport have cerebral palsy and are given a classification according to the extent of their disability. There were originally two classes, C1 and C2, with C1 corresponding to those with more severe impairment. In 1996 a "C1 with aid device" class was added, and in 2000 the system was changed to have four classes, BC1 through BC4.
Boccia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held in the ExCeL from 2 September to 8 September, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. There were four individual events, two pair events, and one team event.
Zoe Robinson is a British boccia player who won a gold medal in the Team BC1–2 event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. She went on to win a bronze in the same event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, UK.
Tom Leahy is a paralympic athlete from Ireland competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight Paralympic Games. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
BC1 is a Paralympic boccia classification. The class is open to people with several different types of disabilities, including cerebral palsy. BC1 players have events open to them in boccia on the Paralympic Games program.
BC2 is a Paralympic boccia classification. The class is open to people with several different types of disabilities, including cerebral palsy. BC2 players have events open to them in boccia on the Paralympic Games program.
David John Smith is a Paralympian who made his Paralympic debut on the British boccia team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. He competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and did so winning Bronze in the Team BC1–2. and Silver in the BC1 individual event watched by a record Boccia crowd at the Excel arena. David competed for Paralympics GB for a third time in Rio where he won Gold in the individual BC1 event for the first time in his career. David held the 'triple crown' of major tournament wins following his win at the World Championships in Liverpool 2018 until the World Championships in Rio 2022 where he claimed Silver. David is now the holder of three Paralympic Gold Medals, after winning at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, making him the most decorated British Boccia player in history and the first BC1 to defend a Paralympic title, He was selected to carry the GB flag in the Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony.
Stephen McGuire is a Scottish Boccia player.
The Boccia Team BC1-2 event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Olympic Green Convention Center on 10–12 September. The preliminary stages consisted of 4 round-robin groups of 3 competitors each. The top two teams in each group qualified for the final stages. The event was won by the team representing Great Britain.
Pedro Cordero Martín is a Spanish boccia player. He represented Spain at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics, winning a bronze medal at both the 2004 and 2008 games in the BC1-BC2 boccia team event.
Manuel Ángel Martín Pérez is a Spanish boccia player who is also known as Manolo Martín. He has cerebral palsy and is a BC2 type athlete.
Boccia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics was held in Riocentro, in the Barra district of Rio de Janeiro in September 2016, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. The programme consisted of four individual events, two pairs events, and one team event, spread across four classifications.
Daniel Michel is an Australian boccia player. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He won the bronze medal in the Mixed B3 at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Cristina Gonçalves is a Portuguese boccia player who has cerebral palsy, She has competed for her country and won medals at several Summer Paralympics.
Zhang Qi is a Chinese boccia player competing in the BC1 classification.
Yan Zhiqiang is a Chinese paralympic boccia player. He participated at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the boccia competition, being awarded the silver medal in the individual BC2 event. Zhiqiang also participated in the team BC1–2 event, being awarded the silver medal with his teammates Weibo Yuan, Zhang Qi and Kai Zhong. He participated at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the boccia competition, being awarded the bronze medal in the individual BC2 event. Zhiqiang also participated at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the boccia competition, winning no medal.
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