Champion wheelchair athletes to burn up the AIS

Minister for Community Services Joy Burch is encouraging Canberrans to come to the 2012 Summer Down Under Wheelchair Racing Series to be staged at the AIS Track this weekend.

Three-time Paralympics gold medallist and five times world champion Kurt Fearnley will join wheelchair athletes from all over Australia to compete against athletes from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA in a program of events in distances from 100 metres to 10,000 metres.

"The Summer Down Under Wheelchair Road Racing Series is the highest profile wheelchair-sporting event in Australia and gives Canberrans the opportunity of seeing world class athletes compete for a prize pool of $25,000," Ms Burch said.

"Interest in wheelchair sport has grown significantly in the past decade. Australians now follow the fortunes of these elite athletes as they pursue sporting excellence at home and abroad and the ACT Government is proud to again host a round of this series.

"I hope Canberrans will take this opportunity of seeing these outstanding athletes as they build up to the Paralympics in London later this year."

"Louise Sauvage and Kurt Fearnley have become household names following their outstanding performances over many years, and this weekend Canberrans will have the opportunity of seeing athletes such as Christie Dawes, Wagga's 16-year-old Declan Young and Canberra's own Angela Ballard compete against the world's best."

The 2012 Summer Down Under Wheelchair Racing Series will take place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 January and entry is free.

Further details on the Series can be found at http://www.wsnsw.org.au/2012-gio-summer-down-under.html.