Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics explained

Npc:	GBR
Npcname:	British Paralympic Association
Games:	Summer Paralympics
Year:	2008
Flagcaption:	Flag of the United Kingdom
Location:	Beijing
Competitors:	212
Sports:	18
Flagbearer:	Danny Crates (opening)^[1] ^[2] David Roberts (closing)
Rank:	2
Gold:	42
Silver:	29
Bronze:	31
Officials:	approx. 200
Appearances:	auto

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.^[3] Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.

Britain finished second in the medal table, behind host nation China, winning 42 gold medals and 102 total medals, equalling the team's position in the medal table at the 2004 Athens Games. The number of medals won was an increase on the 94 medals and 35 golds in Athens. The team was the most successful in two decades, with 80 different athletes winning at least one medal.^[4] The United Kingdom was the next host of the Summer Paralympics, holding the 2012 Games in London.

Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.^[5] ^[6] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.^[7]

Medallists

The following British competitors won medals at the games, all dates are September 2008.^[8] In the 'by discipline' sections below, medallists' names are in bold.

| width="78%" align="left" valign="top" |

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
			Men's individual pursuit – CP3
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC3-4
			Women's individual 1 km time trial – B&VI
			Men's 200 m individual medley – SM6
			Men's 1 km time trial – B&VI
			Men's 100 m freestyle – S7
			Women's 100 m freestyle – S6
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC2
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – CP3
			Men's individual pursuit – LC3
			Women's individual pursuit – B&VI
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC1
			Men's 100 m breaststroke – SB7
			Individual championship test – Grade Ia
			Individual championship test – Grade Ib
			Team championship
			Women's individual pursuit – LC1-2/CP 4
			Men's sprint – B&VI 1–3
			Men's team sprint – LC1-4\CP3/4
			Women's 100 m backstroke – S8
			Men's 4×100 m freestyle – 34 points
			Mixed R3 10 m air rifle prone – SH1
			Women's single sculls – A
			Men's single sculls – A
			Men's 400 m freestyle – S7
			Individual freestyle test – Grade Ia
			Individual freestyle test – Grade Ib
			Women's time trial – HCA/HCB/HCC
			Mixed time trial – CP1/CP2
			Women's time trial – LC1-2/CP 4
			Mixed team – BC1/BC2
			Men's 400 m freestyle – S8
			Women's 100 m breaststroke – SB6
			Women's individual compound – Open
			Men's individual compound – Open
			Men's road race – CP3
			Mixed road race – CP1/CP2
			Men's 800 m – T54
			Quad singles – Open
			Women's 400 m freestyle – S6
			Men's 50 m freestyle – S7
			Men's 1500 m – T54
			Men's 200 m freestyle – S2
			Women's 100 m freestyle – S8
			Women's 100 m freestyle – S9
			Men's discus throw – F33/34/52
			Women's 100 m backstroke – S6
			Men's 1 km time trial – CP3
			Individual championship test – Grade Ia
			Women's 100 m – T12
			Mixed individual – BC2
			Men's 100 m – T36
			Men's 100 m backstroke – S7
			Individual freestyle test – Grade II
			Men's 400 m – T54
			Individual freestyle test – Grade Ia
			Individual freestyle test – Grade Ib
			Individual freestyle test – Grade III
			Men's time trial – CP3
			Men's time trial – LC3
			Women's 400 m freestyle – S8
			Men's 100 m breaststroke – SB6
			Men's 50 m butterfly – S7
			Men's 50 m freestyle – S7
			Men's individual compound – W1
			Men's club throw – F32/51
			Men's 50 m backstroke – S2
			Women's 50 m backstroke – S3
			Men's 400 m freestyle – S10
			Men's 100 m – T53
			Women's 1500 m – T54
			Women's 200 m individual medley – SM6
			Men's 200 m individual medley – SM7
			Men's 100 m freestyle – S7
			Men's 100 m freestyle – S2
			Men's 200 m freestyle – S5
			Women's 100 m breaststroke – SB8
			Men −90 kg
			Women's 100 m breaststroke – SB9
			Men's 100 m backstroke – S8
			Mixed coxed four – LTA
			Men's 200 m individual medley – SM8
			Women's 200 m individual medley – SM8
			Women's 200 m individual medley – SM9
			Men's 5000 m – T54
†			Women's 5000 m – T54
			Men's 100 m breaststroke – SB6
			Women's individual compound – Open
			Women's 200 m – T36
			Men's 50 m freestyle – S2
			Men's 50 m butterfly – S6
			Women's 50 m freestyle – S3
			Men's 200 m – T44
			Quad doubles – Open
			Men's 100 m – T42
			Women's 50 m freestyle – S9
			Men's 400 m freestyle – S6
			Men's discus throw – F44
			Women's 50 m freestyle – S6
	Great Britain national wheelchair basketball team	Basketball	Men's tournament
			Men's 400 m – T44
			Women's 100 m – T36

| width="22%" align="left" valign="top" |

Medals by discipline
Discipline				Total
Archery	2	1	1	4
Athletics	2	7	8	17
Wheelchair basketball	0	0	1	1
Boccia	1	1	0	2
Cycling	17	3	0	20
Equestrian	5	5	0	10
Wheelchair fencing	0	0	0	0
Football five-a-side	0	0	0	0
Football seven-a-side	0	0	0	0
Judo	0	0	1	1
Powerlifting	0	0	0	0
Rowing	2	0	1	3
Wheelchair rugby	0	0	0	0
Sailing	0	0	0	0
Shooting	1	0	0	1
Swimming	11	12	18	41
Table tennis	0	0	0	0
Wheelchair tennis	1	0	1	2
Total	42	29	31	102

Medals by date
Day	Date				Total
1	7 Sep	4	1	2	7
2	8 Sep	3	3	1	7
3	9 Sep	9	6	4	19
4	10 Sep	5	3	2	10
5	11 Sep	6	3	5	14
6	12 Sep	6	4	2	12
7	13 Sep	5	1	7	13
8	14 Sep	3	2	3	8
9	15 Sep	0	4	2	6
10	16 Sep	1	2	3	6
Total		42	29	31	102

† Shelly Woods was initially awarded the silver medal in the athletics, women's 5000 m T54. However a re-run of the race was ordered by the International Paralympic Committee after the result was protested.^[9]

Multiple medallists

The following competitors won multiple medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games.

Name	Medal	Sport	Events
			Men's individual pursuit – CP3 Men's 1 km time trial – CP3 Men's team sprint – LC1-4\CP3/4 Men's road race – CP3 Men's time trial – CP3
			Men's 100 m freestyle – S7 Men's 4×100 m freestyle relay – 34 points Men's 400 m freestyle – S7 Men's 50 m freestyle – S7
			Individual championship test – Grade Ib Team event Individual freestyle test – Grade Ib
			Men's 800 m – T54 Men's 1500 m – T54 Men's 400 m – T54 Men's 5000 m – T54
			Team event Individual freestyle test – Grade Ia Individual championship test – Grade Ia
			Individual championship test – Grade Ia Team event Individual freestyle test – Grade Ia
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC3-4 Men's individual pursuit – LC3 Men's time trial – LC3
			Men's 200 m individual medley – SM6 Men's 100 m breaststroke – SB7 Men's 50 m butterfly – S6
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC1 Men's team sprint – LC1-4\CP3/4
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – LC2 Men's team sprint – LC1-4\CP3/4
			Women's individual 1 km time trial – B&VI Women's individual pursuit – B&VI
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – B&VI Men's sprint – B&VI
			Women's individual 1 km time trial – B&VI Women's individual pursuit – B&VI
			Women's 100 m freestyle – S6 Women's 400 m freestyle – S6
			Mixed road race – CP1/CP2 Mixed time trial – CP1/CP2
			Men's individual 1 km time trial – B&VI Men's sprint – B&VI
			Women's individual pursuit – LC1-2/CP4 Women's time trial – LC1-2/CP4
			Men's 4×100 m freestyle relay – 34 points Men's 50 m butterfly – S7 Men's 50 m freestyle – S7 Men's 200 m individual medley – SM7 Men's 100 m freestyle – S7
			Women's 100 m backstroke – S8 Women's 100 m freestyle – S8 Women's 400 m freestyle – S8 Women's 200 m individual medley – SM8
			Team event Individual freestyle test – Grade III
			Mixed individual – BC2 Mixed team – BC1/BC2
			Men's 4x100 m freestyle relay – 34 points Men's 400 m freestyle – S10
			Men's 400 m freestyle – S8 Men's 200 m individual medley – SM8
			Quad singles – Open Quad doubles – Open
			Men's 200 m freestyle – S2 Men's 50 m backstroke – S2 Men's 100 m freestyle – S2 Men's 50 m freestyle – S2
			Women's 100 m freestyle – S9 Women's 100 m breaststroke – SB9 Women's 200 m individual medley – SM9 Women's 50 m freestyle – S9
			Women's 50 m backstroke – S3 Women's 50 m freestyle – S3
			Women's 1500 m – T54 Women's 5000 m – T54
			Men's 200 m – T44 Men's 400 m – T44
			Women's 200 m individual medley – SM6 Women's 50 m freestyle – S6
			Women's 200 m – T36 Women's 400 m – T36
			Men's 100 m breaststroke – SB6 Men's 400 m freestyle – S6

Targets

In July 2008, UK Sport, the body responsible for the distribution of National Lottery funding to elite sport, published its expectations for the Games. It identified a 112 "stretch" medal target and expected to win 95 of them, including around 35 gold medals to finish second in the medal table.^[10]

The athletes met the expectations of UK Sport for total medals, gold medals and medal table position, finishing second behind hosts China with 42 gold and 102 total medals.^[11] The medals claimed were not all ones that had been targeted, the team fell short of targets in some sports whilst it exceeded them in others; out of the fifteen sports set a target eight succeeded in meeting them.

Sport	Athens 2004 result	"Stretch" Beijing target^[12]	Won	Target met
	2	6	4
	17	30	17
	1	1	1
	0	2	2
	7	14	20
	8	7	10
	0	0	0	–
	0	0	0	–
	0	0	0	–
	1	1	1
	1	2	0
	N/A	1	3
	0	1	0
	0	0	0	–
	1	1	1
	52	41	41
	2	4	0
	2	1	2
Total	94	112	102
Total expected	–	95	102
Total gold	35	35	42

Archery

See main article: Archery at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Great Britain's archery squad for the Games included twelve athletes.^[13] In all, four archery medals, two gold, one silver and one bronze, were won by British archers, which meant that they finished second in the archery medal table.^[14] John Stubbs, a former England disabled cricketer, set a new world record score of 691 in the ranking round on the route to victory in the men's individual compound open. In the equivalent women's event Danielle Brown beat compatriot, and eventual bronze medallist, Mel Clarke before going on to win the gold.^[15]

Men

Athlete	Event	Ranking round		Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Finals
Athlete	Event	Score	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Mick Beard	Ind. recurve standing	597	11	N/A	W 88–87	L 91–104	did not advance
Paul Browne	Ind. recurve W1/W2	576	19	N/A	W 104–90	L 103–108	did not advance
John Cavanagh	Ind. compound W1	640	3	N/A		W 106–104	W 109–107	L 103–108
Michael Karaphillides	Ind. recurve W1/W2	520	30	N/A	L 80–105	did not advance
Fred Stevens	Ind. compound open	681	3	Bye	L 105–115	did not advance
John Stubbs	Ind. compound open	691 WR	1	Bye	W 117–114	W 111–110	W 114–109	W 116–111
Mick Beard Paul Browne Michael Karaphillides	Team recurve	N/A			L 158–185	did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Ranking round		Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Finals
Athlete	Event	Score	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Pippa Britton	Ind. compound	643	5	N/A		L 106–110	did not advance
Danielle Brown	Ind. compound	676 WR	1	N/A		W 107–81	W 113–107	W 112–98
Mel Clarke	Ind. compound	674	4	N/A		W 110–106	L 107–113	W 113–109
Kay Lucas	Ind. recurve standing	535	15	W 85–70	L 89(7)–89(9)	did not advance
Kate Murray	Ind. recurve W1/W2	545	8	Bye	L 76–86	did not advance
Kathleen Smith	Ind. recurve W1/W2	498	15	W 83–70	L 75–97	did not advance
Pippa Britton Danielle Brown Mel Clarke	Team recurve	N/A				L 161–178	did not advance

Legend:

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

The GB Paralympic team included thirty–five competitors in the sport of athletics, amongst them reigning champions Kenny Churchill, Danny Crates, Daniel Greaves and Stephen Miller.^[16] David Weir failed in his attempts to win five gold medals at the Games after suffering from a virus,^[17] but did win four medals; two gold, one silver, one bronze; before pulling out of his final event.^[18]

British participants were involved in a number of controversies regarding the reallocation of medals during the Games. Shelly Woods was initially awarded the silver medal in the women's 5000 m T54, but a rerun was ordered by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after the Australian, US and Swiss teams protested the result because six competitors were involved in a crash on the penultimate lap.^[9] When the race was rerun Woods won the bronze medal.^[19] David Weir believed he had won the gold medal in the men's 800 m T54 but a rerun of the race was ordered after it was discovered that the Australian silver medallist, Kurt Fearnley, had begun the race in the wrong lane. Following a letter from Fearnley and the Australian authorities to the IPC, which asked that the result not be overturned in the spirit of sportsmanship, the rerun was cancelled and Weir's medal reinstated.^[20] Discus thrower Rebecca Chin was originally awarded the silver medal in the women's F37–38, but her classification was challenged and Chin was deemed ineligible for the event, stripped of her medal, and her results were erased.^[21] The decision was particularly controversial given that Chin had already been assessed earlier in the Games whilst she competed in the women's F37–38 shot put final.

Men—Track

Athlete	Events	Heat		Semi-final		Final
Athlete	Events	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Brian Alldis	800 m T54	1:42.38	7	N/A		did not advance
	1500 m T54	3:20.28	6	N/A		did not advance
	5000 m T54	DNF	–	N/A		did not advance
	Marathon T54	N/A				1:43:50	34
Graeme Ballard	100 m T36	N/A				12.65	8
	200 m T36	N/A				25.69	6
	400 m T36	N/A				59.22	8
Mickey Bushell	100 m T53	15.33	3 Q	N/A		14.86
Mickey Bushell	200 m T53	27.85	6	N/A		did not advance
Michael Churm	100 m T37	12.55	3 Q	N/A		12.60	8
Michael Churm	200 m T37	25.30	2 Q	N/A		25.36	5
Danny Crates	800 m T46	DNS	–	N/A		did not advance
Neil Fachie	100 m T13	11.53	5	N/A		did not advance
Neil Fachie	200 m T13	23.17	5	N/A		did not advance
Ian Jones	200 m T44	23.67	2 Q	N/A		23.00
Ian Jones	400 m T44	N/A				51.69
John McFall	100 m T42	N/A				13.08
Stephen Payton	200 m T38	24.89	6	N/A		did not advance
Stephen Payton	400 m T38	N/A				54.02	5
Ben Rushgrove	100 m T36	N/A				12.35
Ben Rushgrove	200 m T36	N/A				DNS	–
David Weir	400 m T54	47.26	1 Q	47.46	1 Q	46.02
	800 m T54	1:36.24	1 Q	1:34.27	1 Q	1:36.61
	1500 m T54	3:09.55	2 Q	3:10.41	2 Q	3:10.34
	5000 m T54	10:21.27	1 Q	N/A		10:23.03
	Marathon T54	N/A				DNS	–

Men—Field

Athlete	Events	Result	Rank
Kenny Churchill	Javelin F37–38	45.30 m 941 pts	6
Martin Crutchley	Shot put F37	12.72 m 853 pts	5
David Gale	Discus F32/51	8.88 m 904 pts	11
Daniel Greaves	Discus F44	53.04 m 981 pts
Chris Martin	Discus F33–34/52	28.37 m 1074 pts
Stephen Miller	Discus F32/51	15.44 m 887 pts	12
Stephen Miller	Club F32/51	34.37 m 1081 pts
Kieron Murphy	Club F32/51	29.03 m 913 pts	7
Dan Nobbs	Shot F53–54	9.13 m 940 pts	10
Richard Schabel	Discus F32/51	9.55 m 973 pts	8
Richard Schabel	Club F32/51	21.06 m 875 pts	10
Nathan Stephens	Shot put F57–58	12.57 m 937 pts	8
	Discus F57–58	38.89 m 834 pts	11
	Javelin F57–58	38.56 m 994 pts	4
Dan West	Shot put F33–34/52	10.39 m 963 pts	8
Dan West	Discus F33–34/52	37.38 m 951 pts	6

Women—Track

Athlete	Events	Heat		Semi-final		Final
Athlete	Events	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Kate Arnold	100 m T46	14.04	9	did not advance
Kate Arnold	200 m T46	28.83	9	N/A		did not advance
Libby Clegg	100 m T12	12.71	1 Q	12.69	1 Q	12.51
Libby Clegg	200 m T12	26.42	2 Q	26.16	4	did not advance
Katrina Hart	100 m T37	14.94	5 Q	N/A		15.12	7
Katrina Hart	200 m T37	31.24	4 Q	N/A		DNS	–
Tracey Hinton	100 m T11	13.14	2	N/A		did not advance
	200 m T11	26.58	2 Q	N/A		26.68	4
	400 m T12	58.89	2	N/A		did not advance
Jenny McLoughlin	100 m T37	15.42	7	N/A		did not advance
Jenny McLoughlin	200 m T37	32.71	7	N/A		did not advance
Hazel Simpson	100 m T36	N/A				15.40
Hazel Simpson	200 m T36	N/A				32.43
Shelly Woods	800 m T54	1:55.52	3 Q	N/A		1:50.03	5
	1500 m T54	3:34.41	1 Q	N/A		3:40.99
	5000 m T54	N/A				12:29.32
	Marathon T54	N/A				1:40:03	4

Women—Field

Athlete	Events	Result	Rank
Hollie Arnold	Javelin F42–46	29.10 m 794 pts	11
Rebecca Chin	Discus F37–38 *	DSQ	–
Rebecca Chin	Shot put F37–38	10.47 m 917 pts	10
Sophie Hancock	Discus F40	21.53 m	5
Sophie Hancock	Shot put F40	7.48 m	5
Beverley Jones	Discus F37–38	27.27 m 928 pts	7
Beverley Jones	Shot put F37–38	10.35 m 1009 pts	5
Kim Minett	Shot put F40	6.92 m	7
Gemma Prescott	Discus F32–34/51–53	11.01 m 993 pts	8
Gemma Prescott	Shot put F32–34/52–53	4.77 m 938 pts	7
Claire Williams	Discus F12–13	35.01 m 823 pts	5

* Originally awarded the silver medal but stripped of medal and results following a challenge to her classification.^[21]

Key:

DNS = Did not startDNF = Did not finishDQ = DisqualifiedPR = Paralympic recordQ = Qualifiers for the final as decided on a basis of rank within heatq = Qualifiers for the final as decided on a basis of fastest losers from all heatsWR = World record

Wheelchair basketball

See main article: Wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Britain qualified teams in both the men's and women's events. The women's team finished eighth out of ten competing teams,^[22] whilst the men, matching their achievement at 2004 Athens Games, won the bronze medal.^[23]

Men

Squad list	Group stage		Quarterfinal	Semi-final	Final (Bronze final)
Squad list	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
From: Joe Bestwick Andy Blake Simon Brown Matt Byrne Terry Bywater Peter Finbow Jon Hall Kevin Hayes Abdi Jama Simon Munn Ade Orogbemi Jon Pollock	W 81–34	3 Q	W 71–64	L 54–67	W 85–77
	L 48–67
	W 54–50
	W 69–53
	W 82–67

Pool B

width=175	Team	width=20	Pts	width=20	Pld	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	PF	width=20	PA	width=30	PD
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		9	5	4	0	1	378	247	131
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		9	5	4	0	1	334	271	63
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		9	5	4	0	1	346	291	55
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		7	5	2	0	3	332	325	7
	6	5	1	0	4	291	348	−57
	5	5	0	0	5	203	402	−199

Legend:

Quarterfinal

Semi-final

Bronze medal final

Women

Squad list	Group stage		Quarterfinal	Semi-final (5–8 Classification semi-final)	Final (7–8 Classification final)
Squad list	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
From: Jill Fox Helen Freeman Joanne Harper Paula Johnson Caroline Maclean Caroline Matthews Pauline McDonald Wendy Smith Clare Strange Louise Sugden Helen Turner Sally Wager Ann Wild	L 30–59	4 Q	L 38–45	L 39–49	L 38–57	8
	W 61–29
	L 31–56
	L 44–50

Pool B

width=175	Team	width=20	Pts	width=20	Pld	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	PF	width=20	PA	width=30	PD
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		8	4	4	0	0	227	149	78
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		7	4	3	0	1	214	174	40
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		6	4	2	0	2	223	185	38
align=left style="background:#ccffcc;"		5	4	1	0	3	166	194	−28
	4	4	0	0	4	129	257	−128

Legend:

Quarterfinal

5–8 Classification semi-final

7–8 Classification final

Boccia

See main article: Boccia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Paralympic Boccia is open to players with cerebral palsy and other major physical disabilities. Four players were selected to compete at the Games, including Sydney gold medallist Nigel Murray.^[24] Murray advanced to the final where, despite at one stage taking a 3–1 lead, he was unable to beat Karen Hoi Ying Kwok and so won the silver medal.^[25] Murray was also a part of the four-person team that won the gold medal in the mixed BC1/BC2 event, beating the defending champions Portugal in the final.^[26]

Athlete	Event	Preliminary matches		Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Rank^[27]	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
David Smith	Mixed individual BC1	W 3–2 W 6–1 L 0–9 L 2–5	3	did not advance
Dan Bentley	Mixed individual BC2	L 1–6 W 5–2 W 5–1	2	did not advance
Nigel Murray	Mixed individual BC2	W 9–1 W 10–0 W 17–0	1	W 7–4	W 4–1	L 3–5
Zoe Robinson	Mixed individual BC2	L 2–4 L 2–6 L 2–5	4	did not advance
Dan Bentley, Nigel Murray, Zoe Robinson, David Smith	Mixed team BC1-2	W 7–6 W 6–4	1	W 11–1	W 7–3	W 8–4

Cycling

See main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Great Britain's cycling team consisted of ten riders, including returning Paralympic gold medalists Aileen McGlynn, her tandem partner Ellen Hunter, and Darren Kenny. Former swimmers Jody Cundy and Sarah Storey were also named in the squad.^[28] The Paralympic cycling team, coached by Chris Furber and managed Helen Mortimer, trained alongside the British Olympic cycling team.^[29] Darren Kenny won five medals, four gold and one silver, more golds than any other British competitor at these Games.^[30] Cundy set a new world record and won two gold medals on the track to add to his five swimming medals from previous Games; this meant he matched Rebecca Romero's achievement in the Olympics of becoming a medal winner in two different sports.^[31] In all British cyclists won twenty medals, seventeen of them gold, to top the cycling medal tables for both road and track events.^[32] ^[33]

Factor time

To ensure a fair event when athletes with differing disabilities compete, times achieved are sometimes modified by a percentage rate, to produce a result known as "Factor Time". It is this time that decides the result of the races, and is listed below. Where this differs from the actual time recorded, actual time is also listed.^[34]

Road

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Mark Bristow	Men's individual road race LC1/LC2/CP4	2:01:44	24
Darren Kenny	Men's individual road race LC3/LC4/CP3	1:37:00
Darren Kenny	Men's individual time trial CP3	37:38.42
Rachel Morris	Women's individual road race HC A/HC B/HC C	1:17:12	6
Rachel Morris	Women's individual time trial HC A/HC B/HC C	FT: 20:57.09 AT: 25:39.22
Simon Richardson	Men's individual road race LC3/LC4/CP3	1:39:14	10
Simon Richardson	Men's individual time trial LC3	38:23.73
David Stone	Mixed individual road race CP 1/CP 2	45:05.33
David Stone	Mixed individual time trial CP 1/CP 2	22:14.86
Sarah Storey	Women's individual time trial LC 1/LC 2/CP 4	37:16.65

Key:

AT = actual timeFT = factor time

Track

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final
Athlete	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Mark Bristow	Ind. 1 km time trial LC1	N/A						1:08.873 WR
Jody Cundy	Ind. 1 km time trial LC2	N/A						1:05.466 WR
Simon Richardson	Ind. 1 km time trial LC3–4	N/A						1:53.102 WR
Simon Richardson	Individual pursuit LC3–4	W 3:48.178 WR	1 Q	N/A				W 3:49.214
Rik Waddon	Ind. 1 km time trial CP3	N/A						1:11.161
Darren Kenny	Ind. 1 km time trial CP3	N/A						1:08.668 WR
Darren Kenny	Individual pursuit CP3	W 3.36.875 WR	1 Q	N/A				W OVL
Antony Kappes, Barney Storey	Tandem 1 km time trial B&VI	N/A						1:02.864 WR
Antony Kappes, Barney Storey	Tandem men's sprint (B&VI 1–3)	10.536	1 Q	W 12.007 W 11.661	1 Q	W 10.747 W 11.467	1 Q	W 10.758 W 11.524
Jody Cundy, Darren Kenny, Mark Bristow	Men's team sprint (LC1-4\CP3/4)	49.561	1 Q	N/A				W 49.323 W 50.480

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Final
Athlete	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Sarah Storey	Ind. 500 m time trial LC1-2/CP 4	N/A		38.356	5
Sarah Storey	Ind. Pursuit LC1-2/CP 4	W 3:40.492 WR	2 Q	W 3:36.637 WR
Aileen McGlynn, Ellen Hunter	Ind. 1 km time trial B&VI	N/A		1:09.066 WR
Aileen McGlynn, Ellen Hunter	Individual pursuit B&VI	W 3:40.997	2 Q	W 3:39.809

Key:

OVL = Win by overtakingQ = Qualified for next roundWR = World record

Equestrian

See main article: Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

The only equestrian events held in the Paralympic Games are in the Dressage discipline. Seven British riders competed, in both individual and team events, winning five gold and five silver medals. Lee Pearson won three titles for the third successive Games,^[35] and Anne Dunham, at the age of 59, won her first individual Paralympic Games gold medal, having previously won three team golds and been a five–time world champion.^[25]

Athlete	Horse	Event	Test round		Final round		Total
Athlete	Horse	Event	Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
Ricky Balshaw	Deacons Giorgi	Ind. champ. test grade Ib	N/A				64.953	5
Ricky Balshaw	Deacons Giorgi	Ind. freestyle test grade Ib	N/A				70.444
Sophie Christiansen	Lambrusco III	Ind. champ. test grade Ia	N/A				72.800
Sophie Christiansen	Lambrusco III	Ind. freestyle test grade Ia	N/A				76.166
Felicity Coulthard	Roffelaar	Ind. champ. test grade II	N/A				65.546	6
Felicity Coulthard	Roffelaar	Ind. freestyle test grade II	N/A				71.056
Debbie Criddle	Pavaroti	Ind. champ. test grade III	N/A				68.160	5
Debbie Criddle	Pavaroti	Ind. freestyle test grade III	N/A				73.110	4
Anne Dunham	Teddy	Ind. champ. test grade Ia	N/A				73.100
Anne Dunham	Teddy	Ind. freestyle test grade Ia	N/A				73.333
Simon Laurens	Ocean Diamond	Ind. champ. test grade III	N/A				62.88	8
Simon Laurens	Ocean Diamond	Ind. freestyle test grade III	N/A				73.499
Lee Pearson	Gentlemen	Ind. champ. test grade Ib	N/A				73.238
Lee Pearson	Gentlemen	Ind. freestyle test grade Ib	N/A				77.057
Simon Laurens Sophie Christiansen Lee Pearson Anne Dunham	Ocean Diamond Lambrusco III Gentlemen Teddy	team event	220.470 69.538 72.000 73.294 75.176	1	219.138 62.880 72.800 73.238 73.100	1	439.608

Wheelchair fencing

See main article: Wheelchair fencing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Lee Fawcett was the sole British fencer to qualify for the Games, he competed in both the foil and sabre B classification events. Fawcett was the final British athlete to compete in Beijing, losing his sabre round of 16 match to Serhiy Shenkevych of Ukraine.^[36]

Athlete	Event	Pool matches		Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Lee Fawcett	Men's ind. foil cat. B	L 0–5 L 2–5 W 5–4 L 1–5 L 1–5	5	did not advance
Lee Fawcett	Men's ind. sabre cat. B	L 0–5 W 5–0 L 3–5 L 3–5 W 5–3	4	L 4–15	did not advance

Football five-a-side

See main article: Football 5-a-side at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

The sport is classified as a B1 event, meaning that it is for blind athletes, however vision-impaired athletes are also able to take part as all competitors wear eyeshades to ensure they are equally disadvantaged. Goalkeepers may be sighted as long as they have not been registered with FIFA since 2003. Each team may also have a guide behind their opponents' goal to direct players.

Great Britain qualified through the International Blind Sports Federation European Championships, held in Greece in 2007, where the team won the silver medal. It was the first time Britain was represented in this sport at the Paralympics.^[37] The team finished fifth out of the six teams that competed, having beaten South Korea on penalties in the fifth and sixth place classification match.

Preliminaries

Squad list	Group stage		Final (5–6 Classification)
Squad list	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Rank
From: Ajmal Ahmed Andrew Briant David Clarke Lee Greatbatch Jonathan Gribbin Simon Hill William Norman Keryn Seal Jonathan Pugh (sighted goalkeeper) Daniel James (sighted goalkeeper)	L 0–3	5	W 1–1 (PSO 1–0)	5
	W 2–1
	L 1–3
	L 0–5
	L 1–3

width=175	Team	width=20	Pts	width=20	Pld	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	GF	width=20	GA	width=20	GD
align=left bgcolor="#ccffcc"		13	5	4	1	0	7	1	+6
align=left bgcolor="#ccffcc"		11	5	3	2	0	10	1	+9
align=left bgcolor="#ffcccc"		10	5	3	1	1	7	2	+5
align=left bgcolor="#ffcccc"		4	5	1	1	3	5	7	−2
	3	5	1	0	4	4	15	−11
	1	5	0	1	4	3	10	−7

Legend:

5–6 Classification

Football seven-a-side

See main article: Football 7-a-side at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

7-a-side football is for people with cerebral palsy only, so athletes who classify as CP5-CP8 can take part in this sport, with C5 being most disabled. At least one C5 or C6 player, and no more than three C8 players, may be on the field at a given time. Britain qualified a team in this sport through the 7th-place finish of the England team at the CPISRA World Championships in Brazil.;^[37] their first appearance since the 1992 Barcelona Games

Pool B

Squad list	Group stage		Semi-final (5–8 Classification round)	Final (7–8 Classification final)
Squad list	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
From: Michael Barker Matthew Ellis Richard Fox Junior Gordon Keiran Martin Graeme Paterson Jonathan Paterson Jordan Raynes Mark Robertson Leon Taylor Michael Wilson	L 1–8	4	L 2–4	W 10–2	7
	L 0–3
	D 1–1

width=150	Team	width=20	P	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	GF	width=20	GA	width=20	GD	width=20	Score
	3	3	0	0	19	1	18	9
	3	2	0	1	7	6	1	6
	3	0	1	2	3	12	−9	1
	3	0	1	2	2	12	−10	1

Legend:

5–8 Classification semi-final

7–8 Classification final

Judo

See main article: Judo at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Four British judokas qualified for the Games, all events were for visually impaired athletes. A single medal was won, by Sam Ingram, in the men's 90 kg category.^[25]

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Bronze
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Darren Harris	Men's 66 kg	L 0000–1001	did not advance			L 0001–0120	did not advance
Sam Ingram	Men's 90 kg	L 0011–0021	did not advance	W 1000–0000	W 0110–0010	W WDL
Ben Quilter	Men's 60 kg	Bye	L 0000–0001	did not advance		W 1010–0000	W 1000–0000	L 0000–1000	N/A
Ian Rose	Men's 100 kg	L 0001–0002	did not advance

WDL Withdrawal

Powerlifting

See main article: Powerlifting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Four British powerlifters qualified to compete at the Games.^[28] Jason Irving and Natalie Blake had the best results, each finishing sixth, Blake was competing in the −48 kg division, having dropped down two weight categories since her fourth-place finish in Athens.^[38]

Athlete	Event	Total lifted	Rank
Natalie Blake	Women's −48 kg	97.5 kg	6
Jason Irving	Men's −56 kg	177.5 kg	6
Ali Jawad	Men's −75 kg	182.5 kg	9
Anthony Peddle	Men's −48 kg	No weight lifted	N/A

Rowing

See main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Rowing appeared as a Paralympic sport for the first time at the 2008 games. Briton Helene Raynsford became the first ever Paralympic champion in the sport, winning the women's single sculls.^[39] Tom Aggar matched her success with victory in the men's single sculls.^[39] A bronze medal for the mixed coxed four crew meant that GB won more medals in the sport than any other nation and topped the rowing medal table.^[40]

Athlete(s)	Event	Heats		Repechage		Final
Athlete(s)	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Tom Aggar	Men's single sculls	5:12.25	1 Q	N/A		5:22.09
Helene Raynsford	Women's single sculls	5:38.44	1 WB Q	N/A		6:12.93
Karen Cromie James Roberts	Mixed double sculls	4:25.73	3 R	4:41.74	2 Q	4:32.52	5
Vicki Hansford Naomi Riches Alastair McKean James Morgan Alan Sherman	Mixed coxed four	3:36.81	2 R	3:44.90	1 Q	3:38.37

Key:

Q = Qualified for finalR = Qualified for repechageWB = World best time

Wheelchair rugby

See main article: Wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. At the Paralympics teams in the sport of wheelchair rugby are made up of mixed classification tetraplegic athletes of both sexes.^[41] Great Britain qualified via the Europe Zonal Championship and went on to finish fourth out of eight teams, losing the bronze medal playoff to Canada.^[42]

Squad list	Group stage		Semi-final (classification round)	Final (bronze final)
Squad list	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
From: Alan Ash Andy Barrow Jonathan Coggan Troye Collins Justin Frishberg Bulbul Hussain Ross Morrison Steve Palmer Josie Pearson Jason Roberts Mandip Sehmi Paul Shaw	W 39–38	2	L 32–35	L 41–47	4
	W 39–35
	L 37–43

Pool B

width=150	Team	width=20	P	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	G	width=20	GA	width=21	GD	width=20	Score
	3	3	0	0	129	111	18	6
	3	2	0	1	115	116	−1	4
	3	1	0	2	116	109	7	2
	3	0	0	3	102	126	−24	0

Sailing

See main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Great Britain entered crews in all three of the sailing events, held in the Qingdao International Sailing Centre. All three boats finished in the top ten places of their events, but none were in the medal positions.^[15]

Athlete^[43] ^[44]	Event	Race											Total points	Rank
Athlete^[43] ^[44]	Event	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total points	Rank
Helena Lucas	2.4 mR – 1 person keelboat	(10)	5	7	7	3	4	(12)	2	8	5	CAN	41	7
Nicki Birrell Alexandra Rickham	SKUD18 – 2 person keelboat	5	5	(8)	(8)	4	1	4	7	7	4	CAN	37	5
John Robertson Stephen Thomas Hannah Stodel	Sonar – 3 person keelboat	(9)	3	6	(9)	5	7	8	6	3	2	1	41	6

Key:

(#) = Worst two results discardedCAN = Race cancelled

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. British shooters won a single medal at the Games, a gold for Matt Skelhon in the mixed R3–10 m air rifle prone SH1. With his first six shots in the qualification round he equalled the world record with a perfect score of 600 out of 600.^[45] Of the other six events in which there was a British competitor only Nathan Milgate, in the men's R1-10 m air rifle standing SH1, advanced to the final.

Rifle

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
Athlete	Event	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
James Bevis	Mixed R5–10 m air rifle prone SH2	594	19	did not advance
James Bevis	Mixed R4–10 m air rifle standing SH2	589	19	did not advance
Di Coates	Women's R2–10 m air rifle standing SH1	385	10	did not advance
Nathan Milgate	Men's R1-10 m air rifle standing SH1	587	7	686.9	8
Nathan Milgate	Mixed R3–10 m air rifle prone SH1	599	12	did not advance
Matt Skelhon	Men's R1–10 m air rifle standing SH1	578	18	did not advance
Matt Skelhon	Mixed R3–10 m air rifle prone SH1	600 =WR	1=	704.9

Swimming

See main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

British Swimming selected a squad of 35 athletes to send to Beijing to compete in the swimming events.^[46] The team contributed a total of forty-one medals to the ParalympicsGB medal total – eleven gold, twelve silver and eighteen bronze. David Roberts won gold in each of his three individual and one of his relay events, taking his personal Paralympics gold medal haul to eleven, equalling that of Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.^[47] ^[48] ^[49] Heather Frederiksen won four medals, including gold in the 100 m backstroke S8 where she set a new world record time,^[50] and Matt Walker, competing in his third Paralympics, won four individual silver and bronze medals and a gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay,^[51] whilst James Anderson competed in his fifth Paralympics, taking his individual medal total to 17. Thirteen-year-old Eleanor Simmonds, the youngest of all the British athletes in Beijing, won two gold medals, making her Britains youngest ever individual Paralympic medallist.^[52]

Men

Athlete	Events	Heats		Final
Athlete	Events	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
James Anderson	50 m freestyle S2	1:10.73	2 Q	1:06.09
	100 m freestyle S2	2:26.23	2 Q	2:24.32
	200 m freestyle S2	5:13.20	3 Q	5:00.03
	50 m backstroke S2	1:05.56	1 Q	1:04.33
Gareth Duke	100 m breaststroke SB6	1:31.54	2 Q	1:28.20
Graham Edmunds	50 m freestyle S10	25.10	5 Q	25.11	8
Graham Edmunds	100 m freestyle S10	55.64	8 Q	55.63	7
David Ellis	50 m freestyle S13	26.46	14	did not advance
	100 m freestyle S13	58.72	13	did not advance
	100 m backstroke S13	1:11.41	11	did not advance
	100 m butterfly S13	1:03.58	13	did not advance
	100 m breaststroke SB13	1:10.92	6 Q	1:09.81	7
	200 m individual medley SM13	2:20.27	2 Q	2:21.22	6
Jonathan Fox	50 m freestyle S7	31.17	=6 Q	31.53	8
	100 m freestyle S7	1:08.16	5 Q	1:08.82	5
	400 m freestyle S7	4:31.78	9	did not advance
	100 m backstroke S7	1:14.78	2 Q	1:14.34
Sean Fraser	50 m freestyle S8	29.08	9	did not advance
	100 m freestyle S8	1:02.45	10	did not advance
	100 m backstroke S8	1:10.77	3 Q	1:11.28
	100 m butterfly S8	1:07.42	7 Q	1:08.36	8
Sam Hynd	50 m freestyle S8	29.27	11	did not advance
	100 m freestyle S8	1:01.67	7 Q	1:01.04	6
	400 m freestyle S8	4:26.46 WR	1 Q	4:26.25 WR
	100 m breaststroke SB8	1:17.00	5 Q	1:15.29	5
	200 m individual medley SM8	2:31.96	2 Q	2:29.93
Sascha Kindred	50 m freestyle S6	33.04	9	did not advance
	50 m butterfly S6	33.12	3 Q	32.49
	100 m breaststroke SB7	1:23.31	1 Q	1:22.18 WR
	200 m individual medley SM6	2:48.35 PR	1 Q	2:42.19 WR
Dervis Konuralp	100 m butterfly S13	1:02.91	9	did not advance
	100 m breaststroke SB13	1:14.55	11	did not advance
	200 m individual medley SM13	2:24.03	6 Q	2:23.01	7
Andrew Lindsay	400 m freestyle S7	5:06.31	3 Q	5:02.74	5
Andrew Lindsay	100 m backstroke S7	1:16.75	4 Q	1:15.99	4
Simon Miller	50 m freestyle S9	27.41	15	did not advance
Simon Miller	100 m freestyle S9	59.08	14	did not advance
David Roberts	50 m freestyle S7	28.33 PR	1 Q	27.95 PR
	100 m freestyle S7	1:00.82 PR	1 Q	1:00.35 PR
	400 m freestyle S7	5:04.31	1 Q	4:52.35 WR
Anthony Stephens	50 m freestyle S5	35.82	7 Q	34.97	6
	100 m freestyle S5	1:19.10	6 Q	1:16.07	4
	200 m freestyle S5	N/A		2:44.67
	50 m backstroke S5	43.24	6 Q	DQ	–
Matthew Walker	50 m freestyle S7	28.75	2 Q	28.60
	100 m freestyle S7	1:05.49	3 Q	1:04.17
	50 m butterfly S7	32.49	2 Q	32.24
	200 m individual medley SM7	2:54.30	4 Q	2:50.10
Robert Welbourn	100 m freestyle S10	54.57	3 Q	54.40	4
	400 m freestyle S10	4:18.19	1 Q	4:07.61
	100 m butterfly S10	1:03.41	12	did not advance
	200 m individual medley SM10	2:21.25	7 Q	2:19.91	7
Matthew Whorwood	50 m freestyle S6	34.94	11	did not advance
	100 m freestyle S6	1:12.51	8 Q	1:11.62	6
	400 m freestyle S6	5:20.03	3 Q	5:20.45
	100 m breaststroke SB6	1:30.52	1 Q	1:29.96
	200 m individual medley SM6	2:54.00	4 Q	2:55.06	4
Matt Walker, Graham Edmunds, David Roberts, Robert Welbourn	4×100 m freestyle relay 34 pts	N/A		3:51.43 WR
From: Graham Edmunds, Sean Fraser, Sam Hynd, David Roberts, Robert Welbourn	4×100 m medley relay 34 pts	4:34.17 Fraser, Hynd, Edmunds, Roberts	7 Q	4:28.45 Fraser, Hynd, Welbourn, Roberts	5

Legend:

Women

Athlete	Events	Heat		Final
Athlete	Events	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Claire Cashmore	100 m backstroke S9	1:14.47	5 Q	1:14.46	6
	100 m breaststroke SB8	1:25.19	2 Q	1:25.60
	100 m butterfly S9	1:13.45	7 Q	1:13.47	8
	200 m individual medley SM9	2:42.11	4 Q	2:42.09	4
Emma Cattle	50 m freestyle S10	32.59	14	did not advance
	100 m backstroke S10	1:14.05	3 Q	1:14.68	6
	200 m individual medley SM10	DQ	–	did not advance
Jennifer Coughlin	100 m freestyle S13	1:06.18	8 Q	1:06.94	8
	400 m freestyle S13	4:58.01	7 Q	4:56.85	7
	100 m backstroke S13	1:14.59	7 Q	1:14.67	6
	100 m butterfly S13	1:11.94	8 Q	1:12.99	8
Heather Frederiksen	50 m freestyle S8	32.79	6 Q	32.59	7
	100 m freestyle S8	1:09.93	3 Q	1:08.48
	400 m freestyle S8	4:58.11	2 Q	4:54.49
	100 m backstroke S8	1:17.62 WR	1 Q	1:16.74 WR
	200 m individual medley SM8	2:53.95	4 Q	2:53.15
Kate Grey	100 m breaststroke SB9	1:25.83	2 Q	1:26.35	5
Kate Grey	200 m individual medley SM9	2:48.15	11	did not advance
Rhiannon Henry	50 m freestyle S13	N/A		28.59	7
	100 m freestyle S13	1:03.02	7 Q	1:01.79	7
	400 m freestyle S13	4:53.98	6 Q	4:41.50	5
	100 m butterfly S13	1:10.39	7 Q	1:07.51	5
Charlotte Henshaw	100 m breaststroke SB6	1:45.91	3 Q	1:45.28	4
Elizabeth Johnson	50 m freestyle S6	39.71	8 Q	39.40	8
	50 m butterfly S6	45.94	12	did not advance
	100 m breaststroke SB6	1:42.84	1 Q	1:41.87
Natalie Jones	50 m freestyle S6	38.13	3 Q	37.21
	100 m freestyle S6	1:23.43	5 Q	1:21.53	5
	50 m butterfly S6	44.69	11	did not advance
	200 m individual medley SM6	3:21.34	4 Q	3:15.20
Rachael Latham	100 m backstroke S8	1:22.71	4 Q	1:22.38	5
	100 m butterfly S8	1:17.72	7 Q	1:18.61	7
	200 m individual medley SM8	3:08.25	13	did not advance
Nyree Lewis	400 m freestyle S6	6:13.85	5 Q	6:10.82	6
	100 m backstroke S6	1:30.34 PR	1 Q	1:29.35
	100 m breaststroke SB5	2:00.45	6 Q	1:56.19	4
	200 m individual medley SM6	3:26.94	6 Q	3:23.93	6
Mhairi Love	100 m freestyle S6	1:29.76	9	did not advance
Mhairi Love	400 m freestyle S6	6:20.31	7 Q	6:15.31	7
Stephanie Millward	50 m freestyle S9	30.69	5 Q	30.45	=6
	100 m freestyle S9	1:05.05	3 Q	1:04.52	5
	100 m backstroke S9	1:12.34	2 Q	1:14.13	4
	100 m butterfly S9	1:15.62	13	did not advance
Eleanor Simmonds	50 m freestyle S6	38.39	5 Q	37.77	5
	100 m freestyle S6	1:21.86	2 Q	1:18.75
	400 m freestyle S6	5:56.24	1 Q	5:41.34 WR
	50 m butterfly S6	43.69	6 Q	43.14	8
	200 m individual medley SM6	3:19.91	3 Q	3:18.41	5
Elizabeth Simpkin	100 m backstroke S9	1:15.65	6 Q	1:14.38	5
Elizabeth Simpkin	100 m butterfly S9	1:13.20	5 Q	1:12.19	6
Lauren Steadman	50 m freestyle S9	31.19	9	did not advance
	100 m freestyle S9	1:08.46	15	did not advance
	400 m freestyle S9	5:10.10	12	did not advance
Louise Watkin	50 m freestyle S9	30.06	4 Q	29.80
	100 m freestyle S9	1:04.91	2 Q	1:03.85
	400 m freestyle S9	4:54.46	3 Q	4:47.14	5
	100 m breaststroke SB9	1:27.79	7 Q	1:26.10
	200 m individual medley SM9	2:42.08	3 Q	2:40.31
Danielle Watts	50 m freestyle S3	1:28.74 PR (S1)	13	did not advance
Danielle Watts	50 m backstroke S2	1:27.50 PR (S1)	6 Q	1:27.28	7
Fran Williamson	50 m freestyle S3	1:05.39	3 Q	1:04.22
Fran Williamson	50 m backstroke S3	1:06.75	2 Q	1:06.07

Legend:

Table tennis

See main article: Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Eleven table tennis players were selected for the GB Paralympic squad.^[28] Included in the squad was 50-year-old Dzaier Neil who had previously taken part in the 1984 Los Angeles Games before taking a ten-year break from the sport.^[53] In the individual events only Neil Robertson progressed as far as the round of 16 whilst the four teams entered won a total of just two matches between them. The squad therefore failed to win any of the four medals that were targeted by UK Sport.^[12]

Men

Athlete	Event	Group matches		Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final Bronze final
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Rank^[54]	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Will Bayley	Singles C7	L 0–3 W 3–1 L 2–3	3	N/A		did not advance
Arnie Chan	Singles C3	L 2–3 L 0–3	3	did not advance
Paul Karabardak	Singles C7	L 3–2 L 0–3 W 3–1	3	N/A		did not advance
James Rawson	Singles C3	L 0–3 W 3–1	3	did not advance
Scott Robertson	Singles C4/5	W 3–0 L 0–3	2	did not advance
Neil Robinson	Singles C3	W WO W 3–1	1	L 0–3	did not advance
David Wetherill	Singles C6	W 3–1 L 2–3 W 3–0	1	N/A		did not advance
Arnie Chan James Rawson Neil Robinson	Team C3	N/A			W 3–0	L 0–3	L 1–3	4
Will Bayley Paul Karabardak David Wetherill	Team C6-8	N/A		L 0–3	did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Group matches		Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Final Bronze final
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Sue Gilroy	Singles C4	W 3–1 L 1–3 W 3–0	2	N/A		did not advance
Cathy Mitton	Singles C1/2	W 3–1 L 1–3	2	N/A		did not advance
Dzaier Neil	Singles C1/2	L 2–3 L 0–3	3	N/A		did not advance
Claire Robertson	Singles C4	L 1–3 L 0–3 L 1–3	4	N/A		did not advance
Cathy Mitton Dzaier Neil	Team C1-3	N/A			W 3–2	L 0–3	L 0–3	4
Sue Gilroy Claire Robertson	Team C4/5	N/A		L 0–3	did not advance

Wheelchair tennis

See main article: Wheelchair tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Team Paralympic GB had competitors in four of the six wheelchair tennis disciplines; men's, women's and mixed quads singles and mixed quad doubles. Peter Norfolk, nicknamed the 'Quadfather', won gold in the mixed quad singles, successfully defending the title he had won in Athens.^[55]

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semi-finals	Finals
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Jamie Burdekin	Mixed quad singles	N/A		L 2–6 4–6	did not advance
Alex Jewitt	Men's singles	L 0–6 1–6	did not advance
Peter Norfolk	Mixed quad singles	N/A		W 6–1 6–1	W 6–0 6–1	W 6–0 6–3	W 6–2 6–2
David Phillipson	Men's singles	W 6–3 6–1	L 0–6 0–6	did not advance
Gordon Reid	Men's singles	L 3–6 0–6	did not advance
Lucy Shuker	Women's singles	N/A	W 6–1 6–3	L 6–2 1–6 4–6	did not advance
Kevin Simpson	Men's singles	L 1–6 7–6(4) 4–6	did not advance
Jordanne Whiley	Women's singles	N/A	L 4–6 4–6	did not advance
Alex Jewitt Kevin Simpson	Men's doubles	N/A	L 4–6 4–6	did not advance
Peter Norfolk Jamie Burdekin	Mixed quad doubles	N/A			lost 22–1	L 4–6 4–6	W 6(4)–7 7–5 6–1
Lucy Shuker Jordanne Whiley	Women's doubles	N/A		Bye	L 7–5 5–7 2–6	did not advance
David Phillipson Gordon Reid	Men's doubles	N/A	L 2–6 2–6	did not advance

Media coverage

As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, the BBC aired coverage of the Games in the UK. The Games were broadcast in high-definition for the first time. BBC Red Button and bbc.co.uk showed live coverage throughout the Games, with a nightly highlights programme on BBC Two (simulcast on BBC HD), anchored by Clare Balding and Steve Cram. Live coverage was also shown on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC HD on Saturdays and Sundays. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were broadcast live.^[56] ^[57] Radio coverage was provided by BBC Radio 5 Live.

External links

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Official Site
International Paralympic Committee
British Paralympic Association
"Where will Paralympic medals be won?", BBC, 4 September 2008
"Paralympic challengers", BBC, 6 September 2008

Notes and References

News: Crates to take GB Paralympic flag . . 5 September 2008 . 5 January 2010.
News: Danny Crates honoured to carry British flag . . 6 September 2008 . 28 September 2008 . London . Matthew . Pryor.
Web site: Full text of the constitution . Department of the Taoiseach . 17 September 2008 . dead . http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050415121010/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/Constitution%20of%20Ireland.pdf . 15 April 2005 .
News: British Paralympians return home . . 18 September 2009 . 22 September 2008.
Web site: Paralympics categories explained . . 3 September 2008 . 25 September 2008.
News: Making sense of the categories . . 6 October 2000 . 18 September 2008.
News: A-Z of Paralympic classification . . 28 August 2008 . 18 September 2008.
Web site: Medallists GBR – Great Britain . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games . 18 September 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080919113244/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/GL/92A/GBR_T.shtml . 19 September 2008 .
News: Woods forced to give back medal . . 8 September 2008 . 8 September 2008.
British Athletes on target for Beijing success – UK Sport . . 3 July 2008 . 27 September 2008.
News: Final Medals Table . . 17 September 2008 . 27 September 2008.
Medal Targets for Beijing_Paralympic . . 3 July 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081110200251/http://www.uksport.gov.uk/assets/File/Medal%20Targets%20for%20Beijing_Paralympic.pdf . dead . 10 November 2008 . 27 September 2008 .
News: Paralympic squad adds two archers . 7 August 2008 . . 25 July 2008 .
Web site: Medal Standings Archery . 18 September 2008 . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080918055422/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/AR/C95/AR0000000.shtml . 18 September 2008 .
News: Archery gold for Brown and Stubbs . . 13 September 2009 . 27 September 2009.
Web site: ParalympicsGB receive athletics nominations for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics . British Paralympics Association . June 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609154831/http://www.paralympics.org.uk/show_news.asp?itemid=2192&itemTitle=ParalympicsGB+receive+athletics+nominations+for+the+Beijing+2008+Paralympics&section=000100010006&sectionTitle=News . 9 June 2011 .
News: Suffering David Weir falls short in 400m . . 10 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080913224611/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2779031/Suffering-David-Weir-falls-short-in-400m---Paralympics.html . dead . 13 September 2008 . 28 September 2008 . London . Gareth A . Davies.
News: Great Britain's David Weir wins second gold medal of 2008 Paralympics . . 17 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081208152119/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2972052/Great-Britains-David-Weir-wins-second-gold-medal-of-2008-Paralympics---Paralympics.html . dead . 8 December 2008 . 28 September 2008 . London . Gareth A . Davies.
News: Woods battles to bronze in rerun . BBCSport . 12 September 2008 . 18 September 2008.
News: Gold for Weir after appeal U-turn . . 16 September 2008 . 14 September 2008.
News: Rebecca Chin stripped of Paralympic silver by 'failing' system . . 15 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080918033920/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2959412/Chin-stripped-of-silver-by-failing-system---Paralympics.html . dead . 18 September 2008 . 18 September 2008 . London . Gareth A . Davies.
News: GB basketball team finish eighth . . 15 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
News: GB basketball team clinch bronze . . 16 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
News: Quartet named in GB boccia squad . . 6 June 2008 . 22 September 2008.
News: GB collect three equestrian golds . . 9 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
News: GB boccia team clinch gold medal . . 12 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
Web site: 2008 Beijing – Boccia . . 14 October 2008.
News: GB Paralympic team for Beijing . . 24 July 2008 . 5 January 2010.
News: Cyclists target Paralympics glory . . 25 August 2008 . 27 August 2008 .
News: Kenny and Stone win cycling golds . . 13 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
Web site: Cundy is golden wonder in two different sports. Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 10 September 2008. 10 September 2008.
Web site: Medal Standings Cycling Road . 22 September 2008 . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080915050831/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/CR/C95/CR0000000.shtml . 15 September 2008 .
Web site: Medal Standings Cycling Track . 22 September 2008 . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080911131018/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/CT/C95/CT0000000.shtml . 11 September 2008 .
Web site: Paralympic cycling qualification and results criteria procedure . 16 January 2007 . 11 September 2008 .
News: Lee Pearson claims another gold at Paralympics . The Times Online . 12 September 2008 . 27 September 2008 . London . Matthew . Pryor.
News: GB's Woods misses marathon medal . . 17 September 2008 . 24 September 2008.
News: GB select Beijing football teams . . 3 July 2008 . 25 September 2008.
News: Newark's Blake to take time out . . 10 September 2008 . 28 September 2008.
News: Britons in historic rowing double . . 11 September 2008 . 17 September 2008.
Web site: Medal Standings Rowing . 25 September 2008 . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080915022851/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/RO/C95/RO0000000.shtml . 15 September 2008 .
Web site: Paralympic Sports > Wheelchair Rugby > Classification . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games . 22 September 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081012192010/http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/sports/wheelchairrugby/n214357497.shtml . 12 October 2008 .
News: Britain miss out on rugby bronze . . 16 September 2008 . 22 September 2008.
Web site: British Olympic Association > Summer Games > Beijing 2008 > Qualification . 10 August 2008 . . 30 November 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101130184115/http://www.olympics.org.uk/futuregamesqual.aspx?gt=s&ga=48#SA . dead .
Web site: National Line Up For 2008 Paralympic Sailing Competition . International Association for Disabled Sailing . 16 July 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081202142931/http://www.sailing.org/24411.php . 2 December 2008 .
News: Skelhon wins shooting gold for GB . 25 September 2008 . 11 September 2008 . BBC News.
Web site: Beijing 2008 Great Britain Paralympic Games Team . 4 August 2008 . . 10 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080910224538/http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,,5157-1-1-136527-0-file,00.pdf . dead .
News: Pool star Roberts to carry flag . . 16 September 2008 . 16 September 2008.
News: David Roberts to lead Great Britain at Paralympic closing ceremony . . 16 September 2008 . 28 September 2008 . London.
News: Roberts & Simmonds shine in pool . . 14 September 2008 . 20 September 2008.
News: Heather Frederiksen proves the doctors wrong with gold medal in Beijing . . 11 September 2008 . 23 September 2008 . London . Simon . Hart . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080913224614/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2779101/Heather-Frederiksen-proves-the-doctors-wrong-with-gold-medal-in-Beijing---Paralympics.html . 13 September 2008 .
Web site: Matt plans to make splash in London . Manchester Evening News . 15 September 2008 . 19 September 2008.
News: Eleanor Simmonds claims two swimming gold medals at 2008 Beijing Paralympics . . 16 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080920061654/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2964791/Eleanor-Simmonds-claims-two-gold-swimming-medals-at-the-2008-Paralympics-in-Beijing---Paralympics.html . dead . 20 September 2008 . 24 September 2008 . London . Gareth A . Davies.
News: Neil in Beijing Paralympics squad . . 21 February 2008 . 25 September 2008.
Web site: 2008 Beijing – Table Tennis . https://web.archive.org/web/20081017013407/http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/Sports/Results/paralympics_events.html?game_id=2008PG&sport_id=21 . dead . 2008-10-17 . . 14 October 2008 .
News: Chin denied silver as medal fiasco worsens . . 14 September 2008 . 27 September 2008 . London . Richard . Aikman.
The Paralympics 2008. BBC. 19 June 2008. 20 June 2008.
Paralympics coverage on BBC TV. BBC. 19 June 2008. 20 June 2008.

Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics explained

Disability classifications

Medallists

Multiple medallists

Targets

Archery

Athletics

Wheelchair basketball

Men

Women

Boccia

Cycling

Road

Track

Equestrian

Wheelchair fencing

Football five-a-side

Football seven-a-side

Judo

Powerlifting

Rowing

Wheelchair rugby

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Table tennis

Wheelchair tennis

Media coverage

See also

External links

Notes and References