Sport-in-Brief - your weekly update from the high performance sports community

British Paralympic Association: The BPA has announced that London 2012 double gold medallist Natasha Baker (Equestrian) and double Paralympic medallist Mel Clarke (Archery) will be athlete ambassadors for the next ParalympicsGB Sports Fest, which offers disabled people the chance to “Try the Sports, Meet the Medallists, Get Inspired”.

The multi-medallists will both attend the event, a free two-day multi-sport event that will be held at the University of Worcester Arena, on Sunday November 24 and Monday November 25.

British Paralympic Association

Cycling: Bob Howden, the Acting Chair of British Cycling and a member for 43 years, was elected as British Cycling’s new President this week.

To coincide with Howden’s first week in the role, British Cycling launched its four year strategy detailing its ambitions for the next four year cycle to 2017.

British Cycling: Our Commitment sets out the future vision and direction for the sports governing body and builds on the strong foundations that have already been laid over the past four years.
Howden said: “Over the next four years we need to remain true to what has become our tradition: to succeed on the world stage and to inspire people to enjoy riding their bikes more often, be it for sport, recreation or transport.

“Brian Cookson is a tough act to follow – especially when you look at the amazing roll call of successes that British Cycling has enjoyed under his leadership. We are certainly riding high and it’s now my job to ensure that we build on this over the next four year cycle. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Find out more about the strategy on the British Cycling website.

British Cycling

Gymnastics: Great Britain’s women’s trampoline team have taken the World Championship gold in Sofia. Emma Smith, Laura Gallagher and Kat Driscoll were Britain’s chosen three for the final and with every routine counting they all excelled combining to score a total of 164.845 ahead of Canada (159.995) and Belarus (158.450).

Driscoll and Parker also won the women’s synchronized gold medal while the men’s and women’s tumbling team and the men’s DMT team all won bronze.

Driscoll said afterwards “We have worked so hard over the last 2-3 years and this comes as an acknowledgment for all our efforts" , Laura Gallagher adding “I don’t think it has hit me yet - I keep grinning, but I know it will hit me later.”

The gold medal is also awarded to Bryony Page who contributed to the team’s superb qualification efforts with mention to teammate Amanda Parker who completes the women's trampoline squad competing alongside Kat Driscoll in the synchronized event.

British Gymnastics

Hockey: Ahead of the Argentina World League Finals on November 30, Great Britain Head Coach Jason Lee gave the squad an opportunity to gain some capped experience with a three match series. The series saw international debuts for Sabbie Heesh, Suzy Petty and Shona McCallin and first caps in a GB shirt for a host of players including European Silver medallists Lily Owsley, Sarah Haycroft, Hollie Webb and Susie Townsend. GB started strongly, winning their first game 3-1, however Germany fought back to reverse this score line in the remaining two games to take the series win.

Speaking after the final match, Great Britain Head Coach Jason Lee said: “We started strongly with a win in the first game and then it was slightly disappointing to be on the losing end yesterday and today. We created a lot of chances today and it felt like a very typical game against Germany where they converted their chances and we just couldn’t score from ours. But I felt overall it was very even between the two sides which is pleasing.”

England Hockey

Para-Rowing: Girls4Gold ambassador, reigning Paralympic and six-times World Champion Naomi Riches MBE announced her retirement from rowing this week.

The 30 year-old is going out on a high having won her sixth World title at the 2013 Championships in Chungju, Republic of Korea.

“I feel that I have achieved everything that I wanted to achieve in the sport and what better way to finish than on the high of a home Paralympic Games gold medal in London , followed by the World title”, said Riches.

“I want to give something back now and I am looking forward to my next career”.

Riches will be doing some work as an Athlete Mentor for the Youth Sports Trust. She has been an Ambassador for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity and for an online fund-raising website Make-a-Donation for the past year and she will be continuing that work.

GB Rowing

Swimming: Paralympic Champion Heather Frederiksen has announced her retirement from swimming after a career of six years at the top of the sport.

Frederiksen was one of six British athletes to stand on the top of the podium at the London 2012 Paralympic Games after swimming to victory in the S8 100m Backstroke.

Of her retirement she said: “It was a really tough decision to make because I love swimming and it has given me so much but I haven’t been in the best of health for the past two seasons and I knew I had to put recovery and my health first.

National Performance Director Chris Furber added: “Heather has enjoyed a hugely successful swimming career and I want to congratulate her on all she has achieved.

“She was a really motivated athlete that showed great dedication for the sport throughout her career. On behalf of everyone at British Para-Swimming I want to wish her luck and best wishes for the future.”

Meanwhile, Lizzie Simmonds bagged two silvers and a bronze in the penultimate leg of the 2013 FINA World Cup (25m) series in Tokyo with Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson winning 200m Breaststroke bronze and Sophie Allen finishing third in the 200m Individual Medley.

British Swimming then moved onto Beijing where Simmonds won 50m Backstroke gold and 200m Backstroke bronze and was joined on the podium by Sophie Allen, Michael Jamieson, and Francesca Halsall.

British Swimming

Wheelchair tennis: Gordon Reid and Jordanne Whiley secured the men’s and women’s doubles titles at the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Viejo, California, with Reid becoming the second British men’s winner at the prestigious event and Whiley becoming the first British woman to claim a Doubles Masters title.

Top seeds Reid and Stephane Houdet of France extended their unbeaten record as a doubles partnership to four tournaments since October 2012 as they clinched a 6-3, 6-3 win over French fourth seeds Michael Jeremiasz and Nicolas Peifer.

“It was a difficult week for me in singles and I wasn’t at the level I would have like to have been, so I’m just really happy to finish with the doubles title and to extend my unbeaten partnership with Stephane,” said Reid. “After getting so close last year it’s great to get the title and I’m looking forward to the 2014 season already and winning some more singles and doubles titles.”

This year’s been amazing for me. To end it with my first Doubles Masters title here with Yui is an early Christmas present,” said British No.1 Whiley. “I’m very pleased to become the first British woman to win the title. I love playing with Yui and it shows, given that we’ve won three of our four tournaments. We’re now going to play the Australian Open together and hopefully Roland Garros before going back to Wimbledon, so I hope next year will be another big one for us.”