ParalympicsGB: What we've been up to in April

With the end of the season for Winter sports and the onset of spring, action is heating up for many Summer sports. Here’s some of April’s highlights.

European bronze for Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team 

This month saw the Wheelchair rugby European Championships take place in the Netherlands, with the top eight countries in Europe battling it out for the title.

Wins against Poland and Switzerland meant Great Britain finished second in Pool A behind Denmark, which set up a semi-final clash against defending champions France. While the British team were unable to get the better of their French opponents they did go on to secure bronze with a convincing 59-48 victory over Germany.

Brits excel in London Marathon 

Wheelchair racer and six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir competed in his 26th consecutive London marathon this month, a remarkable tally for the Briton who has also won the race a record eight times. 

The 45-year-old finished in sixth place behind Swiss wheelchair racer and Paris 2024 marathon gold medallist Marcel Hug who notched up his fifth consecutive win around the streets of the capital, while Nathan Maguire was the next British finisher, securing tenth on his marathon debut.

Hug’s compatriot Catherine Debrunner won the women’s wheelchair race, with Eden Rainbow-Cooper finishing fourth – just days after another fourth place finish in the Boston marathon. Jade Jones finished just behind in sixth and Sammi Kinghorn in seventh.

Three-time Paralympic rowing champion Lauren Rowles came 19th on her marathon debut, having won the London Mini Marathon back in 2014 which, she explained on social media, was where all her sporting dreams began.

Paralympic sprinter Richard Whitehead meanwhile took on the 26.2 mile course as part of his ‘100 Marathon Challenge’ for 2025. The 48-year-old announced at the start of the year that, having finished 80 marathons in his phenomenal running career, he planned to complete 20 marathons during 2025 to take his overall tally up to 100. The London marathon was his ninth of the year and we wish him the very best for the rest of 2025!

First selections for Para swimming World Championships 

Fourteen Para swimmers have been named in the first wave of selections for the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships which take place this September in Singapore.

Following an exhilarating week’s racing at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London earlier this month, 11 Paralympic champions were among the group to seal their place in the squad.

Paralympic champion Faye Rogers showed no letting up in her form breaking the European mark in the S10 100m Butterfly twice, in addition to S10/SM10 British records in the 100m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley, plus a further lowering of her world leading time in the 200m Butterfly – which qualified Rogers for an Olympic pathway B Final in London.

Mark Tompsett, Iona Winnifrith and Olivia Newman-Baronius will be attending their first Worlds – having each claimed European titles and Paralympic medals across a breakout past 12-months. Tompsett and Winnifrith were also among the record breakers in London, respectively lowering the Men’s S14 100m Backstroke European record and Women’s SM7 200m Individual Medley British record.

The Aquatics GB Para swimming team for the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships:

Ellie Challis (S3/SB2/SM3)

Rhys Darbey (S14/SB14/SM14)

William Ellard (S14/SB14/SM14)

Louise Fiddes (S14/SB14/SM14)

Tully Kearney (S5)

Poppy Maskill (S14/SB14/SM14)

Olivia Newman-Baronius (S14/SB14/SM14)

Rebecca Redfern (S13/SB13/SM13)

Faye Rogers (S10/SB10/SM10)

Georgia Sheffield (S14/SB14/SM14)

Alice Tai (S8/SB8/SM8)

Mark Tompsett (S14/SB14/SM14)

Brock Whiston (S8/SB8/SM8)

Iona Winnifrith (S7/SB7/SM7)

Lam-Watson completes hat trick at British Para Fencing National Championships 

Paralympic medallist Oliver Lam-Watson completed an impressive hat trick of titles at the British National Para Fencing Championships this month, with wins in the men’s Category A epee, foil and sabre events.

Remembering Scott McNeice

ParalympicsGB was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Para snowboarder Scott McNeice, who was a member of the Para Snowboard Development Team. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.