The British Olympic Association (BOA), today confirmed the freestyle wrestling athlete, who will compete for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games. That athlete is no other than Olga Butkevych, who was nominated by BOA for selection to Team GB and will compete in the 55kg weight class this summer at the ExCeL, on the 9th August. The 26-year-old has an impressive international record, and claimed bronze at the European Championships in Dortmund last year. She will be looking to reproduce the form she displayed at the Olympic Test Event at the ExCeL last December, where she won the silver medal.
On her selection to Team GB, Olga Butkevych said “I am extremely honored, and proud, to be selected to represent Team GB at London 2012. I can assure everyone I will be working extremely hard between now and the Olympic competition to be competitive, and to be in the hunt to win Britain a medal at the Games. I won silver at the Test event last year, and it would be wonderful if I can be on the podium for the real thing!
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Performance Director Shaun Morley, and the coaching team at British Wrestling, for all their support since I started representing Britain. It is thanks to their support and patience that I have achieved this honour, and I cannot begin to say how much I appreciate it.
“Wrestling is a great sport, and I hope that more and more people will realise that when competition at the Olympics gets underway. I hope that I can help it grow in the UK, and help it benefit from all the plans for an Olympic legacy that British Wrestling have been working so hard to achieve."
“Wrestling is a great sport, and I hope that more and more people will realise that when competition at the Olympics gets underway. I hope that I can help it grow in the UK, and help it benefit from all the plans for an Olympic legacy that British Wrestling have been working so hard to achieve."
In addition, BOA has also confirmed that swimmer Dan Sliwinksi has withdrawn from the Team GB swimming squad due to injury, which has ruled him out of competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Sliwinski had been selected to compete in the men’s 100m Breaststroke. A new athlete will be selected to Team GB for the 100m Breaststroke event following the second round of trials which take place in Sheffield from June 20-23 at the ASA National Championships. The 22-year-old Stockport ITC swimmer suffered a shoulder tendon injury and will undergo surgery next week before beginning a three-month rehabilitation program managed by British Swimming. Dan Sliwinski stated “It is an athlete’s worst nightmare. I have had a couple of injuries and I need to go back and rebuild the foundations. I am still young enough to think about Rio 2016, but I need to address this injury before it gets worse. “I still want to swim for as long as I am physically able to and this operation will help with that. The important thing I need to focus on now is my recovery.”
With today’s announcements, 247 athletes have officially been selected to Team GB for the London 2012 Olympic Games: 1 freestyle wrestler, 5 eventing riders, 9 sprint canoeists, 18 cyclists, 10 fencers, 10 boxers, 12 divers, 5 weightlifters, 4 modern pentathletes, 6 triathletes, 4 taekwondo athletes, 47 rowers, 4 badminton players, 11 shooting athletes, 6 table tennis players, 16 women’s hockey players, 6 archers, 6 marathon runners, 5 slalom canoeists, 16 sailors, 37 swimmers and 9 synchronised swimmers. Team GB will compete in all 26 sports for London 2012 Olympics and is expected to consist of approximately 550 athletes.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its mission is to transform British lives through the power of the Olympic values and the success of Team GB. The BOA’s role is to prepare the ‘Best of British’ athletes for, and lead them at, the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. The BOA delivers extensive support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies to enhance Olympic success and is responsible for championing the Olympic values and brand in the UK. The BOA receives no funding from the lottery or government, has no political interests and is completely dependent upon fundraising income to achieve its mission.
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