Lucas, who is originally from Redhill in Surrey, will compete for ParalympicsGB in the 2.4mR competition where she is set to be a strong medal contender.

She joins team mates Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (SKUD 18) and John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas (Sonar) who became the first five British athletes to be selected for London 2012 when they were named back in August 2011.

"Today's selection of Helena Lucas completes a very exciting line-up for the ParalympicsGB sailing team," said ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission Craig Hunter.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate not just Helena, who has fought hard for her place in ParalympicsGB and who's determination has paid off today, but also all the sailors who have continued to achieve excellent international results since their selection.

"Last year, the sailors were the first of any British athletes to achieve the honour of being selected to the Olympic or Paralympic teams for London 2012.

"It is now just over 100 days to go, and I would really encourage the British public to support our sailors when they take to water at Weymouth and Portland at the Paralympic Games."

The decision to delay the announcement for the 2.4mR boat was due to the intensive competition between Lucas and fellow Briton Megan Pascoe for the final place in the sailing team.

Lucas though, admitted that she was delighted to finally take the coveted spot.

"I'm really delighted to be part of the team, especially with it being a home Games it just adds that extra little bit of excitement to the whole thing," she said.

"Home advantage will hopefully give us a little bit of a push in the right direction, and I think the support that we're going to get with it being a home Games is going to be amazing.

"I was disappointed in Beijing with the result (where she just missed out on a medal) but I think I learnt some very valuable lessons which I've brought into this campaign and which hopefully will make sure I get a medal this time.

"It would be absolutely amazing to be able to win a Paralympic medal and to be able to do it in front of family and friends and a home crowd would be something really special.

"I think these Games, both in terms of Paralympic sailing and the Paralympics in general, will be one of the best Paralympic Games ever just because the British support and interest in Paralympic sport has been fantastic, and the country seems to be really enthused and motivated by the athletes.

"We're going to have quite a special Games."


Stephen Park, the Olympic manager at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), also praised the announcement.

"Helena will be a double Paralympian, so she's got that Paralympic experience under her belt now and has worked tirelessly within the 2.4mR, which is the most competitive of the Paralympic events, to get herself to be a consistent podium performer and to be challenging particularly the Dutch and the French who are, if you like, the incumbents on the podium," he said.

"She's managed to do that successfully recently – she was unfortunate to miss out on a podium position at the World Championships in 2012 but she did succeed in 2011 and indeed she's won two medals at the last two World Cup regattas so I'm confident that she is on track and will deliver a great performance on what is her home waters here in Weymouth and Portland later this summer.

"We've now got 13 teams in the 13 events – Olympic and Paralympic – and as we go into the Games, I can honestly say, hand on heart, that we've got people who've got potential to medal in every single event – we've never had that before.

"That doesn't mean to say that we'll medal in every event – far from it – but in terms of preparing a good team the sailors have done an incredible job to date.

"Having teams selected at this stage provides us with an opportunity for them to pull together to bond as a group and really allow that to add an extra dimension to their preparation in the last weeks up until the Games."

Since their selection last year, the team have achieved some outstanding international results, including a fourth consecutive World Championship title for Rickham and Birrell, a third straight World Championships podium finish for the Sonar crew and World Cup medals for all three teams at the recent World Cup series regatta in Hyeres, France.

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August 2011: First British athletes selected for London 2012 Paralympics