Wiltshire's journey to the Games will strike a chord in London. On July 6 in 2005 she watched television with work colleagues as London was named the host nation for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The following morning, running 20 minutes late, she decided to take a quicker route from her home in Stroud Green to her office in St Katharine Docks. Instead of taking her usual overground train, she jumped on the Circle Line. Sitting about six feet away from her was Shehzad Tanweer. Between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, at 8.50am, Tanweer detonated a peroxide-based explosive device.
The bomb killed seven people, including Tanweer; 52 people died in London that day. She was thrown to the floor and trapped in the mangled metal of the carriage. She was the last person to be evacuated – doctors later told her that she had lost 75 per cent of the blood in her body. Had it not been for another passenger, off-duty police officer Elizabeth Kenworthy, who helped tie a makeshift tourniquet around one of Wright’s legs, she believes she would have died.
She was taken to Whitechapel Hospital, where both legs were amputated above the knee and said on Wednesday, having been on tenterhooks for weeks over her selection: “It's amazing to be selected. It’s the biggest sporting event on earth, and it’s coming to the city where I was born. I have dreamt of being part of it and now I am going there to do my country proud."
Meanwhile Dobell, who previously captained the England indoor volleyball teams from 1987 to 2002 and competed on the international beach Volleyball tour, injured his knee and switched to sitting volleyball. As a result of his selection, he is believed to be the first ever player to compete at the highest international standard in all three volleyball disciplines.
Also among the chosen athletes is Netra Rana, a Gurkha who has become a key member of the men’s team and was awarded the prize for Most Valuable Player (Libero) at the 2011 Continental Cup. He said: “It has been a hard rehabilitation process for me but sitting volleyball has helped me physically and emotionally. I am very proud to be selected in to the squad and I will be honoured to take to the court in the summer with my team-mates to represent Great Britain and make my country and family proud. We cannot wait to get in front of the home crowd and show them what a great sport sitting volleyball is.”
Dan Griffin, performance manager for Sitting Volleyball, said: “This is a great milestone in the sport, as we build towards our first Paralympic Games.
“When Volleyball England took control of the British Sitting Volleyball programme in 2009, there were just a few male players training. Three years on we have men’s and women’s squads with players training daily with a full time coach."
GB Teams:
WOMEN
Amy Brierly
Andrea Green
Claire Harvey
Emma Wiggs
Jessica Frezza
Jessica O’Brien
Julie Rogers
Martine Wright
Jodi Hill
Sam Bowen
Vicky Widdup
MEN
Anton Raimondo
Ben Hall
Charlie Walker
James Roberts
Justin Phillips
Muzzaffar Jabbar
Netra Rana
Richard Dobell
Rob Richardson
Sam Scott
Drive across Sweden marks centenary - harboroughmail.co.uk
A VINTAGE car enthusiast took part in 1,000km drive across Sweden in a 100-year-old Vauxhall.
Andrew Duerden, of Great Glen, took part in the event which saw the Vauxhall Prince Henry model driven from Gothenburg to Stockholm and back to mark the centenary of the Swedish Reliability Trial.
Mr Duerden, who is Vauxhall’s archivist, shared the driving with Alisdaire Lockhart, the owner of the car.
Kay Mordza, of the Swedish Vauxhall Owners Club, who arranged the journey, partnered them on the event.
Mr Duerden said: “The car never missed a beat and averaged over 40mph for the entire event, cruising at 55mph on open roads, and achieving 30miles per gallon.”
The journey traced the route taken by Percy Kidner in 1912.
Driving the same Prince Henry vehicle, Kidner, who was Vauxhall’s managing director, was the fastest entrant in the event. He even incurred penalty points by arriving too early at checkpoints.
The 2012 team were able to visit many of the points from the original route during their journey.
Mr Duerden said the team’s long and painstaking reconstruction of the car to the same specification as the 1912 vehicle paid dividends during the event, with a reliable and speedy performance. He also paid testament to Kidner’s 1912 endeavours.
“We were lucky to have decent, asphalt roads and good weather. Kidner had snow covered surfaces with extremely chilly conditions which make his achievements even more astonishing.”
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Print this pageTry Ascot - in London - The Sun
A London restaurant is running its very own day at the races on Sunday June 23.
The Plough Bar and Kitchen in Clapham, will show all the races on a big screen, from 2.30-5.30pm
So dust off your best suit, fasten your fascinators and jockey for a prime position to watch the dramatic climax, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, through a pair of Veuve Clicquot sunglasses - free with every bottle of bubbly bought.
Call 020 7585 1844, email ploughevents@youngs.co.uk, or see theploughstjohnshill.co.uk.
ADD mystery to a camping trip by booking one of the new Wild Comfort mobile camping sites in Devon – whose locations are kept secret.
The luxury sites pop up at various locations in the South Hams and exact addresses are only given when booking.
But they are all close to beaches and rivers, the wilds of Dartmoor and the charming towns of Totnes, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth and Salcombe.
They are made up of five sleeping tents, one living room tent, kitchen and hot showers – and you can ask for the kitchen to be stocked on arrival. Prices are from £650 for eight people for one week with short breaks also available from £500. See oneoffplaces.co.uk.
BRITS driving abroad show a worrying lack of regard for road safety.
Twenty-seven per cent are less concerned about breaking speed limits, and 18 per cent take drink-driving less seriously than at home, according to an AXA poll.
And only 49 per cent slap a GB sticker on their vehicle abroad, even though it is required.
IF you need vaccines when abroad. it pays to shop around for the best deal.
There were some large differences in prices at clinics nationwide, when
the appointment and administration fees were added in, research by Airport Parking & Hotels (APH.com) found.
Across the seven clinics surveyed, Doctor Today was the dearest – charging £105 for the cholera inoculation and £63 for rabies.
In contrast, Well-Travelled Clinics charges £30.95 and £61.99 respectively.
The Hospital for Tropical Diseases had the cheapest rabies vaccine of those polled, at just £42.
For a full list of costs see aph.com/travelvaccines.
VISITORS to London will soon be able to get wi-fi while on the Tube.
London Underground have teamed up with Virgin Media to get 120 stations connected by the end of the year.
The first batch of stations are set to get online in July and include Oxford Circus, Camden Town, London Bridge and King’s Cross.
DESPITE the best efforts of the various UK tourist boards this year, it seems as though the days of the staycation could be over.
Research by M&S Money reveals staying in the UK can be 25 per cent more expensive than going abroad.
The cost of a week in London, for those wanting to celebrate the Jubilee and the Olympics in the capital, will set Brits back £1,631, compared with an average £1,298 for a sunny holiday overseas.
Stats from online travel agent On The Beach back up the findings – they have seen a massive increase in bookings for this summer with Spain again leading the way.
Tenerife topped the list of destinations with a year-on-year boost in bookings of 60 per cent, closely followed by Majorca which has increased by 90 per cent.
With hoteliers in Greece slashing prices by some 15 per cent and the low rate of the euro, bookings to the crisis-torn country have risen by 55 per cent. Alistair Daly, marketing director at On The Beach said: “With Britain focusing on the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics the UK will be saturated with tourists.
“Our data shows that Brits have chosen to avoid these crowds and take advantage of the reduction on family holidays and guarantee themselves a bit of sun.
“Staycations have taken a back seat in 2012.”
A NEW travel tribe is on the rise – OATs, or Old Age Travellers.
Gatwick Airport polled 1,000 travellers over the age of 70 and found 56 per cent were travelling more now than they did when they were younger.
The airport has now launched a search to find Britain’s oldest traveller.
If you think that’s you, or want to nominate someone, email proof of date of birth, a photo and a line about a favourite travel experience to ukoldesttraveller@gatwick-airport.com before June 29.
London 2012: Jazz Carlin & Ieaun Lloyd's last Olympic individual shot - BBC News
Welsh swimmers Jazz Carlin and Ieuan Lloyd have sealed places in their final trial as both bid to secure individual Olympic places at London 2012.
Carlin failed in her her 400m freestyle bid in March's trials before pulling out from the 800m because of illness.
The British Championships is her last chance in the 200m but Carlin needs a time of one minute 58.33 seconds in Tuesday's final for a qualifying shot.
Lloyd wants Team GB's second Olympic 400m freestyle spot from his final.
But fellow Welshman Alfie Howes is the fastest qualifier for Tuesday's final in Sheffield as the Cardiff swimmer recorded a time of 3:55.32.
Lloyd, who has already secured a place in Team GB's 4x200m Olympic freestyle relay team, won his heat in 3:57.81 minutes.
But the teenager must hit the Team GB Olympic qualifying time of 3:48.92 at Ponds Forge to join Robbie Renwick in the 400m team at London 2012.
Long-distance specialist David Davies, the double Olympic medalist, is the third Welshman in Tuesday's 400m freestyle final.
Carlin, meanwhile, was eighth fastest qualifier for Tuesday's 200m freestyle final in a time of 2:02.50.
But the Commonwealth Games 200m silver medalist must lower her personal best of 1:59.89, achieved in 2008, by more than a second in the 10-woman final if the Swansea-based swimmer is to join Rebecca Turner in the 200m Olympic team.
And Carlin, a world and European relay bronze medalist, must swim quicker than 1.59.47 to have a chance of Olympic qualification in the 4x200m.
Welsh record holder Georgia Davies, who has already qualified for the Olympics, cruised through her 100m backstroke heat in 62 seconds.
Davies also finished second to fellow Welshman Thomas Haffield in the second heat of the men's 200m butterfly to qualify for the 10-man final.
If Carling does qualify, she will join fellow Welsh swimmers Georgia Davies Jemma Lowe , David Davies and Lloyd in the British Swimming team for London 2012.
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