A five-strong Para cycling team combining an exciting blend of youth and experience has been named today to feature as part of the NZ Paralympic Team to compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Paralympian #221 Rory Mead, Paralympian #222 Nicole Murray and Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor all return for a second Paralympic Games following debut appearances from the trio at Tokyo 2020. The team will also comprise world champion Para cyclist Devon Briggs and Ben Westenberg with the pair set for their maiden Paralympic Games.
*Ben Westenberg unfortunately withdrew from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following a crash at the final team training session before the Games began.
Cambridge-based Briggs, aged 20, has enjoyed a stellar year after winning the full suite of medals at the 2024 Para Cycling Track World Championships in Rio in March. In Brazil, Briggs, who has Bilateral Talipes (club feet), romped to a stunning gold medal success in a world record time in the Men’s C3 1km Time Trial and also won C3 Omnium silver and C3 Individual Pursuit in an outstanding all-round display.
The psychology student has earned selection for the Men’s C1-2-3 1km Time Trial and Men’s C3 Individual Pursuit and will also compete on the Road in the Men’s C3 Time Trial and Men’s C1-2-3 Road Race.
Briggs said: “I never imagined when I started cycling that one day I would go all the way to the Paralympic Games, it is more than I ever could have dreamed of.
“I hope that many kids with a disability will look up to what I’ve achieved and be inspired. I just hope to continue to express myself in a sport I love. It would be amazing if I could win a medal in Paris with my mum and dad watching.”
Nicole Murray competes in her second Paralympic Games fuelled by the belief that since her appearance at the Tokyo 2020 she has been a consistent harvester of medals on the global stage. The 31-year-old left-hand amputee from Otorohanga finished fourth in the C5 Individual Pursuit in Tokyo and enjoyed a noteworthy 2023 World Championships in Glasgow winning gold, silver and bronze medals on the track highlighted by top spot in the podium in the C5 Omnium.
Such was her dominance in the C5 classification, Murray was named Best Female Summer Athlete at the 2023 global PARA SPORT awards.
Murray, who is selected for the Women’s C5 individual pursuit and Women’s C4-5 500m Time Trial as well as the Women’s C5 Road Time Trial and Women’s C4-5 Road Race in Paris 2024 said:
“I’m incredibly proud to be selected for my second Paralympic Games and can’t wait to wear the Fern again. I’m excited by the road racing in Paris because it will be one of the most interesting and variable courses I’ve raced on.
“The past few years have been a lot of hard work, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what my team-mates and I can do.”
Joining her on the NZ Paralympic Team is Anna Taylor, a former rower, who is set for her second Paralympic appearance. The 32-year-old Cambridge-based athlete who has caudia equina syndrome (spinal cord injury) has also impressed on the global stage and claimed Women’s C4 Time Trial silver and Women’s C4 Omnium bronze at the 2024 Para Cycling Track World Championships in Rio. Taylor will compete at Paris 2024 in the C4 Individual Pursuit, and Women’s C4 Time Trial on the road.
Hand cyclist Rory Mead returns for his second Paralympic Games hoping to improve on his fifth-place finishes in the Men’s H2 Time Trial and Men’s H1-2 Road Race at Tokyo 2020.
The 37-year-old Porirua-raised US-based athlete sustained a spinal cord injury in a motocross accident ten years ago and he will be determined to impress in both events as he takes to the road in the Men’s H2 Time Trial and Men’s H1-2 Road Race at Paris 2024.
The team is rounded out by Tauranga-raised Ben Westenberg who makes his Paralympic Games debut in the Men’s C4 Individual Pursuit, and C4-5 1km Time Trial. The 19-year-old who has Arthrogryposis claimed four top ten places at the 2024 Para-Cycling Track World Championships highlighted by fifth in the C4 Omnium and sixth in the C4 Individual Pursuit.
Paralympics New Zealand CEO Greg Warnecke said: “Our Para cycling team have historically achieved some outstanding results at the Paralympic Games and we are very excited with announcing the five athletes we have selected for Paris 2024.
“We are once again optimistic the team will challenge the podium positions and I’m sure the New Zealand public will look forward to watching them on both the velodrome and out on the roads.”
The selection of the five Para cycling athletes brings the total number of NZ Paralympic Team athletes selected so far to 23.
