Irish Paralympian Michael McKillop today became the first male athlete to set a new world record in the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.

The Glengormley athlete ran 3:59.54 minutes in the 1500m at the Visa London Disability Athletics Challenge, smashing his previous best of 4:14.81.

“It’s nice to be here and breaking a world record. I’m happy to be the first male to do it in the stadium,” said McKIllop.

The current World and Paralympic T37 800m champion (pictured at Beijing 2008) was competing in the 80,000 seater Olympic Stadium for the first time and led home a field of T20 and T37 athletes..

“It was incredible and enjoyable and an experience I wanted to get out of my system,” added McKillop.

“It’s one of those things – you want to walk into a stadium for the Paralympic final without worrying or thinking ‘oh my god the stadium is huge’ or ‘the track is bigger’.

“It’s only a 400m track with lots of seats around it basically, so it’s similar to where I train which is also a 400m track. I’ve just got to get used to it.”

McKillop will start as overwhelming favourite for the 800m and 1500m T37 events at London 2012. Both events will be shown live on Setanta Ireland.

Duncan House at the University of East London was announced today as the venue for Team Ireland’s Lodge at the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Irish Team lodge

The lodge will act as the Irish team base outside the official Paralympic venues and will offer a venue for athletes to meet and relax with fellow team members, as well as their families and friends.

Duncan House is handily situated on Stratford High Street, just opposite the Olympic Park where many of Ireland’s top Paralympians will be aiming for glory at the Games

Launch event

The announcement was made at a special event attended by Chef de Mission, Liam Harbison, performance director Nancy Chillingworth, UEL vice-chancellor Professor Patrick McGhee and Ireland’s Paralympic discus world champion Catherine O’Neill (pictured above, centre).

“With a huge number of supporters set to travel to London to support the Irish Team of 42 athletes, it’s important to have a facility close to Olympic Park to allow access by families and friends to athletes in a way that helps their performance at the Games,” said Harbison.

“After a lengthy search, we settled on Duncan House as the suitable venue, helped also by UEL’s eagerness to build Paralympic awareness amongst the large student population.”

Lodge services

The lodge will provide a number of services including Games updates, tickets, refreshments, priority supporter events and Paralympic merchandise.

It will be open daily from August 27 to September 7 and accessible by any individual accredited for London 2012, as well as by priority supporters who register directly with Paralympics Ireland.

“This is yet another important milestone in our journey to become the number one university for sport in London by 2015,” said McGhee.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Paralympics Ireland to our growing family of London 2012 partners.Duncan House is situated right in the middle of the Olympic community and will prove to be an ideal hospitality venue for Irish athletes and supporters alike.”

The partnership between Paralympics Ireland and UEL will also provide support and knowledge to students via Q&A forums, sports science workshops and student volunteer positions with the Irish Team.

Sport Northern Ireland

The project is supported by Sport Northern Ireland.

“We are delighted to support Paralympics Ireland with this important facility at London 2012, especially with a number of athletes on the Irish Team coming from Northern Ireland, including defending champions Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop,” said Sport Northern Ireland chief executive Eamonn McCartan.

“In addition to the Paralympics Ireland Training Camp in Antrim in June, Sport Northern Ireland is delighted that Paralympics Ireland are providing comprehensive support to all aspects of the athletes’ preparation and performance in London as they strive for success at the Games.”

The Irish Paralympic Team will be formally announced on June 28 in Dublin and will be followed by the first ever Paralympics Ireland Camp in Northern Ireland (June 28 to July 1)

(Picture: Malcolm McNally, Irish Post)

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has become “Official Logistics Partner” to the 2012 Irish Paralympic Team. The partnership was announced yesterday with top Irish paracyclists, Cathal Miller and Enda Smyth.

Freight Support

DHL Global Forwarding, the cargo arm of the company, will provide full logistics support for the team’s participation at the Games this summer – moving over 100 pieces of team equipment from Dublin to the pre-Games training camp in Portugal and then on to London.

Experience and Expertise

“DHL Global Forwarding has the network infrastructure to ensure that everything gets to where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, to support our elite Paralympic athletes” said Maurice Meade, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding Ireland (see above).

“We are right behind the Irish team’s pursuit of success in London and the whole DHL team is thrilled to be involved”.

Liam Harbison, CEO of Paralympics Ireland, appreciated the valuable support of DHL Global Forwarding.

“There’s a significant logistical challenge involved in moving a huge amount of athlete equipment from Dublin to Portugal and then on to the Games.”

We’re delighted to have the backing of DHL’s expertise – we know that everything will arrive on time and in good order.”

Final squad announcement – 28 June

Ireland is targeting a team of around 40 athletes across 10 sports and has already secured 30 slots in athletics, boccia, cycling, equestrian, powerlifting, rowing, sailing, shooting and table tennis. The full team will be announced on 28 June.

Paralympics Ireland launched its Follow Your Star programme today, an initiative aimed at developing an understanding of Paralympic sport among Irish schoolchildren.

The launch took place at St Pius BNS, Terenure and was attended by elite athletes Nadine Lattimore, Padraic Moran (pictured above), Anne-Marie McDaid and Ellen Keane.

Follow Your Star

The “Follow Your Star” programme for primary school students and teachers, provides a free online resource that allows users to learn more about the Paralympic movement and Paralympic sport in Ireland. 

The goal is to help establish positive perceptions of individuals with disabilities and to encourage support for the Irish Team at the upcoming London 2012 Paralympic Games and beyond.

Online resources

The dedicated website can be accessed free at www.followyourstar.ie. This offers multi-media lessons, lesson plans, and activities which aim to inspire children to strive to achieve their potential, as well as encouraging them to embody the Paralympic values of “Determination, Courage, Equality and Inspiration”.

3,400 primary schools will receive promotional literature on the campaign. Schools participating in the programme will be in with the chance of receiving visits from some of Ireland’s top Paralympic athletes after the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Support Irish Paralympic Sport

“This is a great new resource for Paralympics Ireland.” said Naomi O’Reilly, Programmes Manager for Paralympics Ireland

”We hope that it will inspire young people throughout Ireland to learn more about Paralympic Sport and support the Irish Team at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and onwards to Rio 2016 and beyond.”