Modra books ticket to Rio

Cycling star Kieran Modra has been named in the Australian team to compete at his eighth Paralympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, later this year.

A member at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Hallett Cove, in suburban Adelaide, Kieran will be the most experienced member of Australia’s 16-strong cycling team. The vision-impaired athlete has represented Australia at every Paralympic Games since Seoul in 1988, competing across three sports during that time – athletics, swimming and cycling.

‘It is an honour to be selected for my eighth Paralympic Games. For me, the challenge is now to see if I can continue to win the same event, for gold in four consecutive games’, he said of the 4km individual pursuit event. ‘Standing on the podium is a great honour; I’ve been fortunate in doing really well at the last few Games, and I hope to be as fortunate to stand on that podium again in Rio.’

Kieran is a five-time Paralympic gold medallist and has won two cycling bronze medals and two swimming bronze medals, as well as two silver medals at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He was set to retire after London 2012, but after helping run a tandem cycling program for young athletes with vision impairments in 2014, he was inspired to get back on the track.

The Rio Paralympic Games will take place from 7 to 18 September, 2016.