2016 Paralympic Track and Field Team Announced - 66 athletes will represent Team USA in track & field at the 2016 Paralympic Games. The 40 men and 26 women on the roster, in addition to three guides for visually impaired athletes, will compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 7-18 (Source: TeamUSA.org).


(Photo: Joe Kusumoto, 2016)

2016 Paralympics Swim Team Announced - 31 athletes, 21 women and 10 men will represent the USA in Rio during 2016 Paralympic Games.  Seventeen on the roster have Paralympic Games experience. Two are U.S. military service members. Twenty-five of these outstanding athletes are currently ranked in the top 10 in the world across 89 events

The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games is expected to be the largest to date, with more than 4,500 athletes from 176 countries expected to compete (Source: TeamUSA.org).

(Photo: Joe Kusumoto, 2016)

Track and field events -US Paralympics

Spectacular performances by female and male athletes in long jump, javelin, discus, sprints, 800 meter run in Charlotte, NC. Supportive coaches, families and teammates cheered participants to achieve their personal best! Helpful staff of USOC and Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation were joined by hundreds of volunteers and sponsors for successful events. Competition continues this weekend...Go TEAM USA!

Amazing power runners in Charlotte today!

Track and Field Team Trials began in Charlotte this morning!

Dedicated volunteers arrived at Johnson C Smith University Track and Field Arena early this morning; none were deterred by rainy weather. Colorful license plates in the parking lot revealed athletes, coaches and families traveled to NC from across the country. We set up our station to credential athletes, distributing race bibs, towels and string bags. Athletes came to The Tar Heel State to compete at an elite level.


Amazing effort during Men's track and field Team Trials in Charlotte today! It's hard to describe how fast these athletes complete a trial unless you see it up close!  As volunteers, we feel inspired by the level of enthusiasm and extreme effort displayed by athletes from across the Nation competing for their chance to travel to Rio this summer.

There were disappointments...one young man felt too much pain to compete and left the track disappointed. Another suffered failure of his prosthetic leg during the race. Break until the trials continue for men and women this evening.

#ParalympicTrials

Charlotte, the Queen City

Learn more about Charlotte, NC, The Queen City, site of 2016 US Paralympics Team Trials this week.  Count 'em down, 101 Things to Do in Charlotte, http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/101-fun-things-to-do-in-charlotte

(Skyline photos: CharlottGotAlot) 

Follow at https://twitter.com/CharlottGotAlot

Paralympic Cycling

Excerpts from US Paralympics NEWS (June 29, Brianna Tammaro)...

The nation’s best Paralympic cyclists will put everything on the line at the 2016 U.S. Time Trial in North Carolina. Athletes will race against the clock on a 7.3 kilometer course. 

(Photo: teamusa.org)

Represented in the field are two reigning time trial road world champions—Shawn Morelli of Kansas, and Jamie Whitmore of California. Nineteen active duty and military veterans, including U.S. Army veterans Morelli and Tom Davis of Indiana, will compete.  Other veterans to watch are U.S. Marine Corps veterans Scott Martin and Oz Sanchez, both of California, and Will Groulx of Oregon, a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

On the women’s side, Samantha Bosco of Florida) will compete to make her first Olympic Games against U.S. Army veteran and two-time Paralympian Jennifer Schuble of Birmingham, Alabama.
Team USA heads into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games as the world’s top-ranked nation in track, road and overall team for the International Cycling Union (UCI) standings. For more information on the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial, visit USParalympics.org/2016TeamTrials.

Paralympic Team Trials

The Paralympic Movement began in 2001 to inspire Americans to achieve their dreams.  The MISSION of the U.S. Olympic Committee is To support U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes in achieving sustained competitive excellence while demonstrating the values of the Olympic Movement, thereby inspiring all Americans.

This week, elite athletes are competing in Team Trials in different cities across the Nation. Finalists will join TEAM USA and represent our country in Rio2016 this summer. In Charlotte, NC, hundreds of Paralympians will compete in cycling, track and field and swimming.  All athletes are an inspiration...GO TEAM USA!

#ParalympicTrials