The six Leeds-based athletes along with a coach and a physio will all be representing Great Britain in the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Their achievement will be honoured with a special reception event hosted by Leeds City Council Executive Member for Leisure Councillor John Procter at Civic Hall from 4pm on Tuesday July 15th.
Divers Tandi Gerrard and Rebecca Gallantree, triathlete Alistair Brownlee, hockey player Joanne Ellis, Paralympic table tennis player Cathy Mitton and Paralympic cyclist David Stone have all qualified to take part in the Games. Diving coach Adrian Hinchliffe and physio Alison Rose have also been included in the Great Britain squad for China.
Also attending the Civic Hall reception will be a selection of promising athletes and coaches picked out by the British Olympic Association for their ‘Ambition 2012’ programme. They will be joining the British squad in Beijing as part of their preparations to hopefully compete in the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games themselves. This group is made up of badminton player Gabby White, triathlete Jonathan Brownlee (brother of Alistair), hockey player Samantha Quek, diving coach Edwin Jongejans and triathlon coach Jack Maitland.
The whole group will be presented to senior councillors and VIPs in the Civic Hall reception prior to them completing their final preparations for the Olympic Games which take place from August 8-24 and the Paralympics from September 6-17.
Tandi Gerrard (Synchronised three-metre springboard diving)
Tandi has been part of the Leeds Diving Training Scheme run by Leeds City Council since 2002. The 30-year-old, originally from Johannesburg in South Africa, will be competing in the synchronised three-metre springboard event with partner Hayley Sage from Sheffield, looking to improve on her fourth-place finish in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Rebecca Gallantree (Individual three-metre springboard diving)
Rebecca achieved her dream of qualifying for the Olympics by coming through the final trials in style in front of her home fans at the Aquatics Centre in Leeds. The 23-year-old from Chelmsford in Essex has been part of the Leeds Diving Training Scheme since 2001. Rebecca has been in the Great Britain squad since 2004 and she competed in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon)
University of Leeds student Alistair heads to Beijing full of confidence after recently being crowned World Under-23 Triathlon Champion. The 20-year-old from Dewsbury rose to prominence when he became World Junior Triathlon Champion in 2006. His younger brother Jonathan is a European and World Junior Triathlon bronze medallist.
Joanne Ellis (Hockey)
Joanne has been a regular in the Great Britain women’s hockey squad since making her debut last year and earned a bronze medal by playing in the Champions Challenge in Baku. The 24-year-old from Leeds remains in her hometown as a student at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Cathy Mitton (Paralympic table tennis)
Beijing represents a third consecutive Paralympics appearance for Cathy. The 51-year-old who trains at Leeds Metropolitan University earned a bronze in the individual event in Sydney in 2000 and repeated the achievement with another bronze in Athens in 2004.
David Stone (Paralympic cycling)
Beijing will be David’s second Paralympics as he also competed in Sydney in 2000. The 27-year-old from Leeds goes into the event having won gold medals in both the time trial and road race categories for trikes in the World Disability Championships in both 2006 and 2007.
Adrian Hinchliffe (Diving coach)
Adrian has been the Senior Coach at the Leeds Diving Training Scheme since 1992 and has earned a reputation for producing international-class divers. Adrian joined the Great Britain coaching squad for the 2004 Athens Olympics and he will be repeating the role in Beijing. The 2008 Olympics will be the third Olympics in a row where a diver trained by Adrian has qualified to compete.
Alison Rose (Physio)
Beijing will be Alison’s third consecutive Olympic Games working as a sports physiotherapist with the Great Britain track and field athletes. Alison has been based in Leeds working for UK Athletics and the English Institute of Sport since 2003 and she worked for two years with Dame Kelly Holmes in the run-up to her stunning double gold medal success in the 800m and 1500m in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
The following have also been invited to Beijing as part of the British Olympic Association’s ‘Ambition 2012’ programme:
Gabby White (Badminton)
Gabby has risen quickly through the ranks to now be an established Great Britain international. The 17-year-old from Garforth is a product of Leeds City Council’s Advanced Training Scheme having joined the programme at the age of 12. Together with her mixed doubles partner Chris Adcock, Gabby claimed an impressive silver medal in the World Junior Championships in Auckland in November last year.
Jonathan Brownlee (Triathlon)
Following in the footsteps of older brother Alistair, 18-year-old Jonathan Brownlee is fast making a name for himself with his own impressive performances. After winning the National Youth Duathlon and Triathlon titles in 2007, he followed that up this year by winning bronze medals in both the World and European Junior Triathlon Championships.
Samantha Quek (Hockey)
Leeds Metropolitan University student Samantha is now a firmly-established England Under-21 player having broken into the side two years ago aged just 17. The 19-year-old from Prenton on Merseyside had previously represented her country at Under-16 and Under-18 level, and made her Great Britain senior debut against Argentina in November 2007.
Edwin Jongejans (Diving coach)
Edwin has Olympic diving experience himself having competed for his native Holland in both 1988 and 1992. As Dutch national coach he developed divers to international level before joining the Leeds Diving Training Scheme as a coach in 2003. Rebecca Gallantree will be the first diver he has coached to the Olympics when she competes in Beijing.
Jack Maitland (Triathlon coach)
Jack is the High Performance Triathlon coach at Leeds Metropolitan University’s Carnegie sports programme. He supports athletes on British Triathlon's World Class Programmes and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme. He has been coaching for over 12 years and has himself competed internationally in the Commonwealth Games and the World Triathlon Championships.
Leeds City Council Executive Member for Leisure Councillor John Procter said:
“It is a fantastic achievement not only for these athletes and coaches but also for the city of Leeds that we have this many talented sportspeople who have been chosen not only to represent their country at the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing but also as potential participants for London in 2012.
“This is the greatest sporting event there is in the world so on behalf of everyone in the city we would like to wish them all the very best of luck in China and to enjoy what I’m sure will be an unforgettable experience.”