29 August 2024

The New Zealand Para cycling team arrived in the Paralympic Village for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games last Friday following a training camp in Switzerland.

Prior to leaving, Cambridge-based and Tauranga-raised Para track cyclist Ben Westenberg was involved in a crash at the final team training session.

Since arriving in the Village, Ben has been monitored under concussion protocols, with support from NZ Paralympic Team medical staff.

While Ben has been recovering well, further tests this week have shown that he has not progressed to the stage where he would be able to compete safely when his events get underway on Friday.

Following discussions with Ben, it has been decided to withdraw him from competition and the NZ Paralympic Team will officially inform the UCI of his withdrawal.

Ben, 19, had been scheduled to compete on the track in the Men’s C4-5 1000m Time Trial and the Men’s C4 4000m Individual Pursuit.

NZ Paralympic Team Chef de Mission Raylene Bates said while this was a difficult situation, the priority is the health and safety of Ben.

“The medical team has worked really hard this week to aid Ben’s recovery – but unfortunately the decision had to be made to withdraw him from competition,” said Raylene. “Ben has been going really well and we are all hugely disappointed he won’t make his Paralympic debut at Paris 2024, but we are confident he will be back.”

Notes:

About the New Zealand Paralympic Team

• The NZ Paralympic Team in Paris 2024 boasts 25 Para athletes across eight Para sports.
• The NZ Paralympic Team is one of New Zealand’s most successful sport teams, consistently performing on the world stage. In Tokyo 2020, the Team placed fourth in the world per capita, with 97 percent of the Team having top eight finishes.
• The NZ Paralympic Team strives to challenge perceptions towards disability, showcasing high performance athletes who prove anything is possible.
• Since Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games, 227 New Zealand Paralympians have been part of New Zealand Paralympic Teams competing at 26 Paralympic Games (14 summer and 12 winter) winning a staggering 236 medals (201 in summer and 35 in winter).
• Paralympics New Zealand’s marketing campaign, “We’ll Give You Something To Talk About” is designed to challenge perceptions and encourage New Zealanders to support and celebrate New Zealand Paralympians and Para athletes at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

How to watch

• TVNZ will broadcast the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in New Zealand. Paris 2024 will see the most extensive coverage for a Paralympic Games in New Zealand to date. This will include coverage on TVNZ 1 from 7.30pm, five dedicated TVNZ+ pop-up channels covering live and delayed content, plus replays and highlights.

About Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ)

• Paralympics New Zealand is the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for New Zealand. We are a charity and our overall vision is ‘Transforming lives through Para sport’. As a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), we are part of a worldwide social change movement, which uses the power of sport to positively influence community perceptions of disabled people and to promote a more diverse and inclusive society.
• To do this, we support and celebrate the achievements of Para athletes at international and national competitions all year round. Every two years, we lead New Zealand teams to the Paralympic Games. We also work in the local community to advocate for sport to become more accessible for disabled people and to support the creation of more systems and programmes to enable participation in Para sport.
• Our funding comes from a mix of public donations, fundraisers, philanthropic partners, commercial partners, plus government and community grants, which together make our Para sport, community and advocacy programmes possible.
• To find out more about us, please visit about us
• To support Paralympics New Zealand click here
• Join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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