| 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 & down syndrome , 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.
Great Britain competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012 as the host nation. A total of 288 athletes were selected to compete along with 13 other team members such as sighted guides. The country finished third in the medals table, behind China and Russia, winning 120 medals in total; 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze. Multiple medallists included cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair athlete David Weir, who won four gold medals each, and swimmer Stephanie Millward who won a total of five medals. Storey also became the British athlete with the most overall medals, 22, and equal-most gold medals, 11, in Paralympic Games history.
Liesl Dorothy Tesch AM is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician. She is a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Gosford since the 2017 Gosford state by-election.
Colin Anthony Harrison is an Australian Paralympic sailor. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the Three Person Sonar.
Russell Boaden is a Paralympic sailor from Australia. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and a won a gold medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Daniel Fitzgibbon, is an Australian Paralympic sailor, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. He won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics with partner Liesl Tesch in the two person SKUD 18.
Alexandra Rickham is a British Paralympic sailor.
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Stephen Andrew Churm is an Australian sailor. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in sailing. He did not medal at the 2012 Games.
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Stephen Thomas is a British Paralympic sailor. Thomas has represented Great Britain at three Summer Paralympics and with his colleagues John Robertson and Hannah Stodel has won multiple medals in the Mixed Sonar class at the Disabled Sailing World Championships, including gold in 2005 and 2006.
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Per Eugen Kristiansen is a Norwegian sailor from Bekkestua who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the Sonar class, together with Marie Solberg and Aleksander Wang-Hansen. He has sailed since he was 7. In 1994, he was involved in a climbing accident, and since then has been reliant on a wheelchair. Nine months later, he was an active sailor again. In 1998, he competed for the first time after a disabled sailor invited him to an event, and from then on, he has been an active regatta sailor. In January 2012, he won the World Sailing Championship in Florida.
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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