HAMPSHIRE’s Micky Yule boosted his Paralympic chances by winning bronze at the IPC Powerlifting World Cup.

The military veteran from Park Gate, Southampton, who is funded by UK Sport and a part of the Help for Heroes Sports Recovery Programme, made it a GB hat trick with a third place finish in the Men’s 72kg category.

Yule succeeded with all three lifts, with his final press at 192kg enough to secure bronze and boost his chances of Rio qualification.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, played host to over 190 athletes from 40 countries; all of whom were competing to secure crucial qualification points ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Micky was joined in Kuala Lumpur by GB team mates Zoe Newson who won bronze in the women’s -45kg class to claim sixth place in the ranking list and all but secure an automatic qualification place for this summer’s Games, and four-time Paralympian Natalie Blake who emulated Newson’s third place finish.

In order to qualify for Rio 2016, athletes must meet the IPC Powerlifting Paralympic Minimum Qualification Standard (MQS) for their respective weight category; the top eight ranked male athletes and top six ranked female athletes in each weight category as of 29 February 2016 will be awarded places at next summer’s Paralympic Games.

British Weight Lifting Paralympic Performance Manager Tom Whittaker said: “It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the GB team – particularly Micky and Natalie with two major competitions in two weeks – and our athletes should be happy with their performances in Kuala Lumpur.

“With ranking totals extremely close we are now waiting for IPC clarification on athlete eligibility before final places for each weight category can be confirmed, but we’re confident each member of the team has given themselves the best possible chance of a place in Rio.”

British Weight Lifting will announce the GB Paralympics team in April.

The support provided to Micky forms part of the Help for Heroes’ partnership with British Weight Lifting and the British Paralympic Association to introduce military personnel and veterans to Paralympic Sport.

Micky is sponsored by The Alliance Trust and is an ESP Fitness UK athlete ambassador.

Help for Heroes has been involved with Sports Recovery since 2008, and in the past year alone have put on over 300 events across 50 different sports enabling wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans to take part in adaptive sports from grassroots through to performance level.

For more on Help for Heroes’ Sports Recovery Programme, visit helpforheroes.org.uk/sports-recovery.