Julie Rogers and Ben Rowlings have been announced as the latest BT Ambassadors ©BT

British Para-athletes Julie Rogers and Ben Rowlings have been announced as the latest BT Ambassadors at a mentoring session in Loughborough.

The duo were unveiled at an event at the High Performance Athletics Centre alongside Paralympic gold medallists Jonnie Peacock and Hannah Cockroft, both of whom are also BT Ambassadors.

Peacock clinched gold in the T44 100 metres on home soil at London 2012 while Cockroft claimed two titles in London as she won the women's T34 100m and 200m sprint double.

The mentoring session gave Rogers and Rowlings the chance to learn from their compatriots and all four are hoping to compete at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships in the Qatari capital of Doha in October.

Rogers, a former sitting volleyball player who was one of the youngest participants at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, said the meeting with Peacock and Cockroft gave her invaluable experience as she builds towards Rio 2016.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the BT Ambassador team,” she said.

“BT has done so much for disability sport and has helped so many athletes like me realise their dreams.

“The mentoring session BT organised today has been really valuable to me.

"Jonnie and Hannah are two athletes I look up to, so to have the chance to get some training tips is definitely going to help me going forward.”

Double Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft attended the mentoring session to give advice to both Rogers and Rowlings
Double Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft attended the mentoring session to give advice to both Rogers and Rowlings ©Getty Images

BT have been a longstanding partner of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and aim to help rising Para-athletes through their Ambassador scheme.

Rowlings, who won bronze at last year’s European Championships and who is on the Team GB World Class Performance Programme, also heralded the opportunity to gain insight and knowledge about competing at the highest level from Peacock and Cockroft.

“Today has been an amazing opportunity to find out more about competing on a world stage,” he added.

“With the IPC World Championships and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games on the horizon, hearing about Jonnie and Hannah’s experiences has been invaluable.

“BT’s long-term commitment to Paralympic sport is unrivalled and I'm excited to be joining their Ambassador team.”



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