GB top medal table
/Boccia UK has got off to a flying start to the season, winning five medals in the individual competition of the World Boccia Zagreb Challenger.
The GB squad topped the medals table, winning more medals and more golds than any other nation.
David Smith MBE, Claire Taggart and Will Arnott all stormed to gold medals. And for Arnott from Reading, it was his first ever gold medal at an international event:
“This is a fantastic win for Will,” said Greg Baker, Boccia UK Performance Director. “He’s had to beat the very best here including the current BC3 Paralympic Champion in the final.”
Northern Ireland’s Taggart – who became BC2 World Champion in December – and Smith, Britain’s best boccia player of all time, also cemented their position at the top of the rankings as qualification opened for Paris Paralympic Games 2024.
Also on the medal table for GB was Will Hipwell who won silver. Despite winning silver as part of the Team event at the World Championships last year, it was the BC2 player’s first ever individual medal at an international event.
Stephen McGuire completed the collection with a bronze medal in the BC4 category. It came after months of rehabilitation following a serious injury at the beginning of last year.
Baker says the results in Zagreb augur well for the countdown to Paris:
“It’s been a fantastic tournament so far and sets us up well ahead of the Montreal World Cup in April. To win five medals here against nations like Portugal and Brazil means that everything’s moving in the right direction.”
“And while they may not be returning home with medals, Fiona Muirhead and Sally Kidson, who’s just 18, both achieved fourth place which is superb, especially given they’ve only just stepped onto the World Class Programme.
A real highlight of the tournament for me was watching Sally beat World Champion Ana Costa in the group stages and then narrowly losing 3-2 in her bronze medal match to one of the world’s best players from Brazil. She’s very new to international competition but she is already proving that she can compete against the best.”
But there’s no time for the squad to celebrate. Today, the squad begins their Team and Pairs campaign and are hoping to further boost their medal haul.