Team named for Para European Championships

FOR Grant “Scooter” Patterson, a Canadian Club will never taste sweeter.

The 34-year-old is one of 20 athletes named on the Australian Para Team to compete at next month’s Para Swimming European Open Championships in Madeira, Portugal.

It is the third time the competition is being held in Portugal following the 2016 and 2021 editions and the meet is the springboard for Scooter to make his third Paralympic team after London and Tokyo.

Illness cost the North Queenslander his chance of posting qualifying times for Paris at the Para Swimming World Championships last year and now Scooter is making up for lost time.

“I’ve not had a drink since October and there’ll be a nice cold CC waiting for me if I can post an eligible time in Maderia and then swim well at the trials in June,” he said.

“I won bronze in Tokyo and I’d like to win that elusive gold.”

Scooter, who has diastrophic dysplasia, a form of dwarfism, said a recent camera session with a biomechanist, visiting with Olympic coach Michael Bohl and his squad in Cairns, had corrected his body positioning for his 150m IM event in the SM3 and 50m breaststroke.

Greg Towle, an expert in technical leadership and the Paris 2024 Paralympic Campaign Head Coach, said the Maderia meet from 21-27 April was a chance for Australia to maximise its chances of sending a full team to Paris.

To date, 25 athletes are eligible to be considered for selection pending results at Paralympic Trials this June in Brisbane.

“We are hoping to have as many athletes as we can to select our 35-member Paris team and this event provides an opportunity for our athletes to test themselves against the world’s best before heading to trials and hopefully Paris,” Towle said.

“Scooter is obviously an athlete to watch, Callum Simpson, Alex Tuckfield, Chloe Osborn, Holly Warn is the youngest athlete selected at 14 … there are so many talented swimmers on this team.

“And this is their opportunity to perform when it matters most on the international stage, and take those learnings into their Paris preparation.”