| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Niki James Birrell |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 16 August 1976 Manchester, England |
| Sailing career | |
| Club | Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy |
Medal record | |
Niki James Birrell (born 16 August 1976) is a British Paralympic sailor. Alongside Alexandra Rickham, he has won four IFDS World Championship titles and in the 2012 Summer Paralympics the pair took the bronze medal in the SKUD 18 two person keelboat class.
Birrell, who was born with cerebral palsy, began sailing at a young age after being introduced to the hobby by his father. He and his brother Christian became a competing pair and in 2002 they were selected for the British team in the 420 class. [1]
Birrell competed in the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Competition in the SKUD 18 two person keelboat class alongside teammate Alexandra Rickham, where he finished fifth. Between 2009 and 2011 Birrell and Rickham have won four IFDS World Championship titles.
Birrell was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, United Kingdom. [2] He competed in the SKUD 2-person keelboat event with Rickham, for which they took the bronze medal. [3]
Eighty athletes representing 25 countries in three keelboat classes - the 2.4mR, the SKUD 18, and the Sonar, took part in sailing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Sailing was held in two designated areas on the Yellow Sea, Qingdao, Shandong province, from September 8 to September 13.
Three athletes represented the Philippines in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. The 2-person keelboat sailing team of Pedro Sollique and Cherry Pinpin were based in the seaport city of Qingdao while Adeline Dumapong was in Beijing for the powerlifting event. The Philippine Paralympic delegation was headed by PhilSPADA-NPC, with support from the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
The SKUD 18 is a class of racing sailing boat. It is a lead-assisted skiff with a tube-launched asymmetrical and a modern high performance stayed rig. The boat was created for trials held by the International Association for Disabled Sailing who were looking for a new two person boat for an additional medal allocated to sailing for the 2008 Paralympics.
The International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) was an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and was responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee. The organisation was initially called the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing up until around 2008 when it had to change its name due to tax law in the country it is registered in.
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Alexandra Rickham is a British Paralympic sailor.
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Marie Solberg is a Norwegian sailor from Sarpsborg. She took part in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in the Sonar class and won a bronze medal together with Per Eugen Kristiansen and Aleksander Wang-Hansen. She works as a graphic designer and graduated from Høgskolen i Østfold, Halden.
Cherrie "Cherry" Samonte Pinpin, is a Filipina Paralympic sailor who crewed in the SKUD 18 Two-Person Keelboat class, Sailing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Beijing.
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