As the year draws close to an end, our supported athletes have been working hard across the country to make 2019 a year full of success. Never failing to be inspirations for all, here are a few that deserves a shout out for their great work in the September / October months.
Billy Birchmore proved at the DSISO (Down Syndrome International Swimming) European Swimming Championships why he is one of the best. Competing in Sardinia against 16 countries, Billy won 7 Gold Medals out of his 7 races and was awarded overall Best T21 Male for Individual Performance and the European Champion 2019. Congratulations Billy, truly inspirational!
Not too long ago we released an article on the success some of our athletes had at the World Transplant Games. We wanted to give an extra special mention in this article to Stephen Jarvis who won 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and achieved 3 world records. To top this off he also achieved the award for overall best athlete at the whole World Championships.
Tatum Keen became a double Commonwealth Champion when she won gold at both the Junior Judo Commonwealth Championships and the Cadet Age Groups.
GSF Ambassador David Wetherill exceeded expectations when just a month after heart surgery, he won gold and bronze at European Para-table tennis Championships, securing his place for the Paralympics. Originally wanting to fit the replacement pacemaker after the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic, David told BBC Radio Cornwall that it is a relief to have it out of the way now so he can focus on the training leading up to the Paralympics. Having won European and World medals, David hopes to finally get a Paralympic medal in Tokyo, which the GSF team have no doubt he can do.
While on the topic of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic qualifications, Fran Brown is on track to qualifying as she won both the World and European Para-triathlon championships in the PTS2 class. Amazing work and wishing you all the luck Fran!
Well done to Rosie Rallings who was selected for the junior/senior England squad for Synchronised Swimming.
Janice Ellacott came back from The European Masters Athletic Championships in Venice with an individual silver medal in the 400m, silver in the 4 x 100m and gold in the 4 x 400m, breaking the world record. She continues to inspire us, especially after breaking her foot last year and not letting it stop her from winning medals.
Toby Markham won the 100m and 200m event at the Cerebral Palsy National Championships, meaning his ranking stays at 1st for both disciplines. Well done Toby!
Following on from her 3 gold medal win at Wrexham regional badminton event, Nikki Welch won a further 3 gold medals in the Welsh 4 nations badminton tournament. Nikki now has won a total of 34 gold, 13 silver and 2 bronze medals since starting playing in 2014.
At the British Ice Skating Qualifier 3 competition in Dundee, 6 GSF athletes competed in pairs and all came home with fantastic results. Natalie and Peter Nicoll competed for the first time in juniors and achieved the qualifying score for the British Championships in November as well as claiming the bronze medal. Rebecca Clarke and Frank Roselli also competed for the first time in seniors and achieved the qualifying score for the British Championships and for the National Team, as well as the bronze medal. Jessica Marjot and Jan Nordman competed in their first competition together in Seniors and achieved the qualifying score for the British Championships as well as the score required for the National Performance squad and a silver medal.
Manchester Sports Awards took place on the 15th October where they celebrate the achievements of the city’s people, clubs and community organisations, with a large emphasis on the volunteers who give countless hours to sports. GSF athlete Success Eduam was honoured that night with the Junior Sports Achiever award for being ranked number one in the country for 200m in the under-15 girls category for the last 2 years.
A massive well done goes to GSF Ambassador Lucy Charles-Barclay who came 2nd in the Ironman World Championships for the third year in a row.
Tomi Owoborode also had a great Triathlon season as he qualified for European Age Group Standard Distance Championships next year summer in Tartu, Estonia and Sprint Distance Championships in Malmo, Sweden.
Last but not least, Mae Bostock won the Judo Commonwealth Championships. Congratulations and keep up the good work Mae!
Well done to all the athletes featured in this article, your achievements are a perfect example of why we do what we do. We hope our support will continue to bring more success.
