Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Great Britain at the
2008 Summer Paralympics
Flag of the United Kingdom
IPC codeGBR
NPCBritish Paralympic Association
Websitewww.paralympics.org.uk
in Beijing
Competitors212[1] in 18 sports
Flag bearers Danny Crates (opening)[2][3]
David Roberts (closing)[4][5]
Officialsapprox. 200[1]
Medals
Ranked 2nd
Gold
42
Silver
29
Bronze
31
Total
102
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)

Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Great Britain sent a delegation of around 400, of which 212 were athletes, to compete in eighteen sports at the Games. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who may elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics.[6] Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.

Britain finished second in the medal table, behind host nation China, winning 42 gold medals and 102 total medals, equalling the team's position in the medal table at the 2004 Athens Games. The number of medals won was an increase on the 94 medals and 35 golds in Athens. The team was the most successful in two decades, with 80 different athletes winning at least one medal.[7] The United Kingdom was the next host of the Summer Paralympics, holding the 2012 Games in London.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC team was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Crates to take GB Paralympic flag". BBC Sport. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  3. ^ Pryor, Matthew (6 September 2008). "Danny Crates honoured to carry British flag". The Times. London. Retrieved 28 September 2008.[dead link]
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference closing flag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference times flag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Full text of the constitution" (PDF). Department of the Taoiseach. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  7. ^ "British Paralympians return home". BBC Sport. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2008.