MORE than 240 of the country’s finest young disabled athletes have run, jumped and thrown for gold in Coventry at the Typhoo National Junior Athletics Championships.
The annual event is one of the highlights in the disability sports calendar with some competitors hoping their success might lead to a golden career in athletics.
Among those taking part in the two-day championships at the University of Warwick’s athletics track was wheelchair racer Conor Rooney from Prescott. As part of the North West team, the 15-year-old, who attends St Edmund Arrowsmith, in Whiston, bagged two golds in the 100m and 800m in his classification of T54.
The Everton fan, who competes for Knowsley Challenge, has been racing for three years after his talent was spotted by Blackpool’s Shelly Woods, the elite Paralympian wheelchair racer.
Ben Callander, from Warrington, also struck gold. The 14-year-old pupil at St Gregory’s Roman Catholic High School won gold in the 200m and silver in 100m.
Meanwhile, the five-strong team from Kirkby’s Bluebell Park School returned with a hatful of medals and can now boast four national champions in their classifications and age groups.
Reece Day, u18 T36, won 400m gold, 100m silver; 200m silver; Nicole Lloyd, u20 T20, won 100m gold; shot silver; discus bronze; Amy Shaw, also in the u20 T20, won javelin gold; discus silver; shot bronze; Libby Johnson, in the u18 T20, won discus gold; shot silver; and Alex Dawber, in the u20 T20, won discus silver; shot bronze.
Somnath Saha, chief executive of Typhoo Ltd, said: “This is an important celebration of talent and Typhoo has been delighted to support it. Sport can change lives and that is certainly true for those who have taken part in the regional qualifiers and the national championships.
“Being active can help with physical and mental health, confidence and fitness and to promote social interaction. That’s why it is great to see such a high number of young disabled people taking part in this weekend’s competition, supported by an army of volunteers, families and schools.
“And one day, who knows, some of these youngsters might emulate the likes of Hannah Cockroft, David Weir, Jonnie Peacock and other Paralympians and take their talent to even bigger stages.”
PICTURED: Nicole Lloyd in action
