Paralympics GB men's team captain Paul Blake believes sponsors are more interested in supporting "athletes with a disability you can see," according to the BBC. Middle-distance runner Blake, 25, won Silver and Bronze at London 2012 as well as the T26 800m title at October's IPC World Championships in Doha. Blake, who has cerebral palsy, "is struggling for sponsors to supplement his funding for the Rio Paralympics. Blake said, "Without funding, I'd struggle to continue." Blake was speaking as a campaign was launched to "encourage the public to generate funds for the team." Blake: "The bigger sponsors and the bigger companies focus on specific athletes and it's pretty hard for cerebral palsy athletes to get any significant sponsor. They focus on the athletes with a visual disability that you can physically see." Former GB wheelchair basketball player and now broadcaster Ade Adepitan "has sympathy for Blake." Adepitan: "I think the next level in the progression of the Paralympic movement is where our athletes get sponsorship from the large brands, in the same way able-bodied athletes do" (BBC, 1/7).
