Penny Briscoe Named ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission for Sochi 2014

Penny Briscoe will be the Chef de Mission for the British team at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, order the British Paralympic Association announced today.

Sochi 2014 will be Briscoe’s sixth Paralympic Games, cough and she brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She was Deputy Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB at London 2012 and Vancouver 2010, as well as being the BPA’s Director of Performance since 2002.

Upon being awarded the role, Briscoe said: “I was absolutely delighted to have been asked to take on this position. It is an honour and a privilege to be a Chef de Mission and I’m looking forward to bringing all my experience to this new challenge of leading a ParalympicsGB team at a Games.

“My ambition is that at Sochi, every athlete and staff member in ParalympicsGB will have the mental and physical toolkit and the support framework to thrive in the Games environment. That is much bigger ambition than it may sound, because the Paralympics is so much more complicated an environment than a World Championships. We already have detailed plans in place to develop those skills and that support.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of the BPA, said: “Penny is one of the most experienced people working in Paralympic sport in the UK and knows the environment incredibly well, so I’m delighted she has taken on the role. As a former athlete herself, she understands all the stresses and strains that the Games can pose, and she epitomises the athlete-centred focus of the work that the BPA does.

“Separating the Chef de Mission and CEO functions worked extremely well in London and we were keen to replicate the model for Sochi. While a much smaller team than in London we are committed to providing the same world class support.