The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom and lasted from 18 to 23 August. The competition was staged at Swansea University Stadium. Approximately 550 athletes from 37 countries attended the games.[1]
 | |
| Host city | Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Nations | 37 |
| Athletes | 550 |
| Events | 193 |
| Dates | 18 – 23 August |
| Main venue | Swansea University |
Russia won the Games atop the medal table with 41 Gold medals, and also collected the greatest overall medal haul with 88.[2] The host nation, Britain, finished third.[2] Of the 37 competing nations, 34 managed to achieve a podium finish.[3] There were seven world records set and a further seven European records, in a games that was beset by difficult weather conditions throughout the tournament.[4]
Venue
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The venue for the Championships was the Swansea University athletics stadium.[5]
Format
editThe 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships is an invitational tournament taking in track and field events. No combined sports were included in the 2014 Championships. Not all events were open to all classifications, though no events were contested between classifications.
Athletes finishing in first place are awarded the gold medal, second place the silver medal and third place the bronze. If only three competitors are available to challenge for an event then no bronze medal is awarded. Some events will be classed as 'no medal' events.
Coverage
editAs with the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, the IPC produced live streaming footage of the Championships on ParalympicSport.TV. In the United Kingdom Channel 4 continued their commitment to para-sport with their own live streaming website and daily live coverage shown on their sister channel More4.[6]
Events
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Opening ceremony
editThe Championship opening ceremony took place at the Swansea University Stadium on the night of 18 August the day before the first events were held. The competition was officially opened by Welsh Assembly Minister John Griffiths followed by an address by the IPC president Sir Philip Craven.[7]
The IPC flag carried into the stadium by schoolgirl Molly Hopkins, the youngest Swansea 2014 ambassador, Paralympian champion John Harris, swimmer Jack Thomas and games volunteer Harmony Dumay; before it was raised to signal the opening of the games. The swearing of the oaths were undertaken by Welsh athlete Josie Pearson, her coach Anthony Hughes, and on behalf of the officials by Matt Witt.[7]
Entertainment was provided at the venue by singers Shaheen Jafargholi and John Adams; and the Morriston Orpheus Choir.[7]
Classification
editTo ensure competition is as fair and balanced as possible, athletes are classified dependent on how their disability impacts on their chosen event/s. Thus athletes may compete in an event against competitors with a different disability to themselves. Where there are more than one classification in one event, (for example discus throw F54/55/56), a points system is used to determine the winner.
- F = field athletes
- T = track athletes
- 11-13 – visually impaired, 11 and 12 compete with a sighted guide
- 20 – intellectual disability
- 31-38 – cerebral palsy or other conditions that affect muscle co-ordination and control. Athletes in class 31-34 compete in a seated position; athletes in class 35-38 compete standing.
- 41-46 – amputation, les autres
- 51-58 – wheelchair athletes
Schedule
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| ● | Opening ceremony | Events | ● | Closing ceremony |
Medal table
editThe end medal table after day 5, showing all medal winning countries.
* Host nation (Great Britain)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 41 | 29 | 18 | 88 |
| 2 |  Ukraine | 17 | 8 | 18 | 43 |
| 3 |  Great Britain* | 16 | 19 | 17 | 52 |
| 4 |  Germany | 14 | 17 | 15 | 46 |
| 5 |  Finland | 9 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 6 |  France | 8 | 8 | 4 | 20 |
| 7 |  Switzerland | 8 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| 8 |  Poland | 6 | 15 | 10 | 31 |
| 9 |  Spain | 6 | 9 | 10 | 25 |
| 10 |  Netherlands | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| 11 |  Italy | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 12 |  Bulgaria | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 13 |  Turkey | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 14 |  Ireland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 15 |  Sweden | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 16 |  Greece | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 17 |  Austria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 |  Croatia | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
 Czech Republic | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |
| 20 |  Lithuania | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 |  Belarus | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 |  Latvia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 |  Portugal | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 24 |  Azerbaijan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Hungary | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 26 |  Slovakia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 27 |  Iceland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 28 |  Serbia | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 |  Denmark | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 30 |  Belgium | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 |  Luxembourg | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Norway | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 33 |  Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (33 entries) | 168 | 162 | 146 | 476 | |
Multiple medallists
editMany competitors won multiple medals at the 2014 Championships. The following athletes won four medals or more.
| Name | Country | Medal | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margarita Goncharova | Russia
|
 Gold Gold Gold Gold
|
100m - T38 400m - T38 Long jump - T38 4 × 100 m relay - T35-38 |
| Henry Manni | Finland
|
Gold Gold Gold Gold
|
100m - T34 200m - T34 400m - T34 800m - T34 |
| Manuela Schär | Switzerland
|
Gold Gold Gold Gold
|
400m - T54 800m - T54 1500m - T54 5000m - T54 |
| Marcel Hug | Switzerland
|
Gold Gold Gold Bronze
|
800m - T54 1500m - T54 5000m - T54 400m - T54 |
| Kenny van Weeghel | Netherlands
|
Gold Gold Silver Silver
|
200m - T54 400m - T54 100m - T54 800m - T54 |
| Marc Schuh | Germany
|
Silver Bronze Bronze Bronze
|
400m - T54 100m - T54 200m - T54 800m - T54 |
Highlights
editBroken records
editFourteen records were broken including seven world records.
| Event | Round | Name | Nation | Time/Distance | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 400m T37 | Final | Andrei Vdovin | Russia
|
50.91 | 22 August | WR |
| Men's 5000m T13 | Final | Alexey Akhtyamov | Russia
|
15:07.13 | 20 August | ER |
| Men's High Jump T44 | Final | Maciej Lepiato | Poland
|
2.17m | 22 August | WR |
| Men's Discus Throw F44 | Final | Dan Greaves | Great Britain
|
62.34m | 22 August | ER |
| Men's Discus Throw F54 | Final | Drazenko Mitrovic | Serbia
|
33.68 | 20 August | WR |
| Women's 100m T12 | Semifinal | Oxana Boturchuk | Ukraine
|
12.00 | 19 August | ER |
| Women's 400m T38 | Final | Margarita Goncharova | Russia
|
1:03.40 | 22 August | WR |
| Women's 400m T44 | Final | Marie-Amelie Le Fur | France
|
1:01.41 | 22 August | WR |
| Women's 4 × 100 m Relay T35-38 | Final | Zhanna Fekolina Margarita Goncharova Anna Sapozhnikova Svetlana Sergeeva |
Russia
|
53.53 | 23 August | WR |
| Women's Long Jump T37 | Final | Anna Sapozhnikova | Russia
|
4.46 | 21 August | ER |
| Women's Shot Put F37 | Final | Eva Berna | Czech Republic
|
11.01 | 19 August | ER |
| Women's Discus Throw F12 | Final | Sofia Oksem | Russia
|
45.97 | 22 August | WR |
| Women's Javelin Throw F53 | Final | Svitlana Stetsyuk | Ukraine
|
10.50 | 22 August | ER |
| Women's Club Throw F51 | Final | Joanna Butterfield | Great Britain
|
17.68 | 22 August | ER |
Participating nations
editBelow is the list of countries who agreed to participate in the Championships and the requested number of athlete places for each.
Austria 6
Azerbaijan 5
Belarus 6
Belgium 5
Bulgaria 10
Croatia 15
Denmark 7
Estonia 2
Finland 11
France 19
Germany 32
Great Britain 52
Greece 35
Hungary 7
Ireland 8
Iceland 3
Israel 2
Italy 13
Latvia 8
Lithuania 11
Luxembourg 1
Montenegro 1
Norway 4
Netherlands 23
Poland 33
Portugal 22
Romania 3
Russia 74
Serbia 9
Slovakia 5
Slovenia 2
Spain 31
Sweden 8
Switzerland 9
Czech Republic 12
Turkey 24
Ukraine 34
See also
editFootnotes
edit- Notes
- References
- ^ "Swansea 2014". paralympic.org. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Medal Standings" (PDF). IPC. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ "Placing Table" (PDF). IPC. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ "Records Set: As of 23 Aug 2014" (PDF). IPC. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ Davies, Gareth A (21 March 2013). "Swansea to host 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ Anderson, Gary (10 July 2014). "Bumper summer of Paralympic sports coverage as Channel 4 set to broadcast host of events". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
- ^ a b c "Swansea 2014: The Opening Ceremony". thewave.co.uk. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
External links
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