Olympics: Foy named in para-cycling team

Emma Foy (left) and sighted pilot Laura Thompson with Jono Hailstone, head performance coach, Para-Cycling, after winning a gold medal in the Women's B 3km Pursuit at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Italy. Photo / Paralympics New Zealand

Former Dargaville woman Emma Foy is in the seven-strong team of para-cyclists that have been selected by Paralympics New Zealand to compete in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games this September.

Foy and Laura Thompson are triple world champions and will be joined by Paralympian Kate Horan, making her para-cycling debut following a switch from para-athletics and a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

The squad will include five Paralympic first-timers and rising stars on the world stage: Amanda Cameron, Hannah van Kampen, Byron Raubenheimer and Stephen Hills.

The announcement was made at the team's National Training Centre at Avantidrome in Cambridge yesterday.

It marks the third para-sport announced for the NZ Paralympic Games team, taking the team to 17 para-athletes to date, including former Whangarei swimmer and defending champion Cameron Leslie.

Collectively, the New Zealand team is aiming to win 18 medals, including 12 gold, across up to seven different para-sports.

The team also hopes to retain its London 2012 title of number one in the world in medals per capita.