Published Wednesday, 08 August 2012
The Jordan team will have 13 athletes competing in the Paralympic Games. (© Presseye)
Nine men and four women, 13 competitors in total will be training at the Pre Games Training Camp in Antrim Forum.
They will be competing in shot put and discus, long jump, running, powerlifting and table tennis.
Welcoming the 19 strong delegation, Sports Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said: "The Jordan Paralympic team is the last of the 2012 Games teams to train here.
We've welcomed 17 different countries to the north in the last month for their pre-games training camps and over 1,000 athletes in the last 12 months for pre-games training events and qualifiers.
"They have all come here as part of their Olympic journey. It is my hope that all these athletes leave prepared for the competitions ahead, and use these experiences as a springboard to sporting success," the Minister added.
"But they also take with them the goodwill of local people and support of the communities where they trained. With this in mind, I wish the Jordanian athletes every success and will be following their progress at the Paralympic Games with interest."
Previous teams hosted in Northern Ireland include the Chinese Olympic Gymnastics team and Olympic boxing teams from numerous countries.
One of the six Jordanian powerlifting athletes, Mutaz Aljuneidi, won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
He is hoping for a strong performance at the 2012 Games.
"For my team, maybe between four medals between gold, silver and bronze," he said.
He said the team wanted to train in Antrim- "because we want this climate because it's the same climate in London", which they hope will give them a winning edge.
Joining the welcoming committee were representatives from Disability Sports NI, the Mayor of Antrim Roy Thompson, and the Antrim Welcoming Committee, Sport NI's Andrew Sloan.
"We have been delighted with the pre games training camps and events which have taken place here so far, with some camps contributing to medal winning performances at the Games, such as the Chinese men's gymnastics team who have a team Gold and an individual Gold," they added.
The Jordan Paralympic team will depart on the 22 August for the Paralympic Games which commence on Wednesday 29 August.