 | | Andy Blake |
The Paralympic World Cup will consist of four different sports, athletics, swimming, track cycling and wheelchair basketball. All the major Paralympic nations have been invited to compete - including Great Britain, China, USA, Australia, and South Africa. Wheelchair basketball will be held in the Amaechi Centre, swimming at Manchester's Aquatic centre, track cycling at the Manchester Velodrome and athletics will be staged at Sportcity. Tanni Grey-Thompson, who won gold medals in the T53 100m and 400m at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, will be among 130 elite athletes from around the globe competing in the athletics programme at Manchester 2005. Tanni says, "The Paralympic World Cup is the perfect annual event for my sport. It will offer top-level competition on a regular basis and will expand awareness of elite disability sport. | "It will offer top-level competition on a regular basis and will expand awareness of elite disability sport." | | Tanni Grey-Thompson |
"The time is right for Paralympic sport to have an increased year-round public awareness," added the Redcar-based athlete. "The Paralympic World Cup in Manchester will highlight the sport annually on a global stage and I am delighted to be competing." Andy Blake, captain of the GB men's basketball team, says, "We were delighted to win a team bronze medal in Athens, but we always want to improve and see this competition as a great opportunity to continue our development. "The Paralympic World Cup will be a wonderful opportunity for the British public to again see how talented and dedicated our elite disability sports people are." The competition will take place in Manchester for a minimum of three years, giving British Paralympic athletes the chance to compete at the highest level in their own country on a yearly basis, raising their profiles and the profile of disabled sport. | 
