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  • Givan: Our athletes go for gold in Rio Paralympics

    Topics:
    • Sport

    Date published: 6 September 2016

    Sports Minister Paul Givan, MLA has sent his best wishes to all local athletes taking part in the Paralympics in Rio.

    The Games take place from 7 September to 18 September 2016.

    The Minister said: “So much training and dedication goes into preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and a few weeks back I saw this for myself when I had the pleasure of meeting swimmer Bethany Firth while she was training at the Performance Development Centre in Lisburn.

    “Sport has a positive impact on our lives, both physically and mentally, so I am particularly pleased that we have such great role models and ambassadors to encourage young people to participate in sport. It is also important that we invest in sport and I am pleased that my Department through Sport NI will invest almost £1 million in disability sports.

    “This investment will provide opportunities for the up and coming athletes to participate in their chosen sport and hopefully we will see some of them competing in the 2020 Paralympic Games.”

    Ten athletes from Northern Ireland have been selected for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

    The Minister concluded: “I will look forward to watching the Paralympic Games and hopefully we will see some medals coming back from Rio.”

    Notes to editors:

    1. Find out more about the Paralympic Games 
    2. Follow us on Twitter - @CommunitiesNI
    3. For media enquiries please contact the Department for Communities Press Office 028 9082 9267 or email press.office@communities-ni.gov.uk. For out of hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned

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