German Swimmer Kirsten Bruhn, Paralympic gold medalist and world record holder, invited the people of Berlin to attend the International Paralympic Day on 23 August in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. She was joined by Matthias Schroeder, Paralympic Silver and Bronze medalist (Athletics), and Thomas Ulbricht, Paralympic hopeful, speaking on behalf of the Paralympic athletes.
Said Ms. Bruhn: “The International Paralympic Day 2007 will be exciting, inspiring and lots of fun. To make it even more special, the Brandenburg Gate will offer a spectacular backdrop for this showcase of Paralympic Sport at its best.”
On 23 August, the IPD 2007 will offer a condensed version of the Paralympic Summer Games on the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate. An exciting menu of sports have been chosen, including Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball, Football 5-a-side, Table Tennis and Long Jump. For extra measure, IPC has added Biathlon, a Paralympic Winter Sport.
Organized and hosted by the IPC, the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, the International Paralympic Day 2007 will be supported by IPC’s World Wide Partners (Otto Bock and Samsung), IPC’s Gold Patrons (Deutsche Telekom AG and Allianz SE) as well as the Deutsche Bahn, Volkswagen, the German National Paralympic Committee, the German Ministry of the Interior, the Berlin Tagesspiegel and RBB.
Athletes will come from all over the world to perform in Berlin. So far, the following athletes have confirmed their participation for what is going to be the biggest IPD ever: for Wheelchair Basketball, the German U22 Men’s National Team and the Chinese Women’s National Team; for Sitting Volleyball the National Teams of Germany and Bosnia. For the main event of the day, the Long Jump competition, world-class athletes Casey Tibbs (USA), Urs Kolly (Switzerland), Roberto La Barbera (Italy), Heinrich Popow, Thomas Ulbricht, Matthias Schroeder (all Germany) and Xavier LeDraoullec (France) have confirmed.
The audience, especially children, will have an opportunity to try out some of the sports themselves, like Wheelchair Basketball or the Biathlon shooting range.
At the press conference, Ms. Bruhn sent a special invitation to young people who may become Germany’s Paralympians of the future. “IPD 2007 will give Berliners a first hand, up-close and interactive experience of top-level Paralympic Sport and a chance to get in touch with some of the world’s best Paralympic athletes,” said Ms. Bruhn.
The IPC was represented by IPC Marketing & Communication Director Phil Newton and IPC Marketing Manager Alexis Schäfer.
For more information, please visit the official IPD 2007 Website.