Meet some of our newest Athletes!
- inspiredthroughsport
- Jun 26, 2018
- 3 min read
Every day the number of athletes in #TEAMITS grows, and we are honoured to be supporting so many of GB’s sporting heroes on their journey to success!
We thought we’d give a little shout out to some of the athletes who have recently joined our family and share with you some of their achievements…
James Ball – Para-cycling
James is one of those people who you just can’t help but be impressed by as he’s not just good at every sport he tries, he’s WORLD-CLASS at every sport he tries…he originally competed in Athletics and was all set for representing GB in the London 2012 Paralympics, but a reoccurring hamstring injury doused those dreams. For many people, that’d be the end of their sporting career, but James decided not to give up and took up cycling instead. Amazingly, he managed to reach the Rio Paralympics, where he placed 5th in the kilo with his pilot, Craig Maclean. Since then, James has gone on to win loads of silverware and titles, including becoming a double World Champion in 2017 and a double silver medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. James is truly a fantastic example of what you can achieve when you have a ‘Growth Mind-set’, as he refused to give up on his dreams.
Hannah Martin – Rhythmic Gymnastics
Hannah has to definitely be one of Britain’s rising stars – in 2016 she became Junior Rhythmic British Championships Ball and Hoop champion, and only narrowly missed out on all-round and rope champion, winning silver instead! If that wasn’t achievement enough at her young age, she became the youngest rhythmic gymnast on team England for the 2018 Commonwealths, being selected at only 15 years old! At the Golden Coast Games she came an impressive 7th in the overall competition and narrowly missed out on a medal in the Ball final, coming 5th. At 16, she is already well-known in the Rhythmic Gymnastics world for her performance and elegance, and we just can’t wait to see how she does in the future!
Evie Richards – Cyclo-cross
Evie is the first British woman to ever to win the under-23 cyclo-cross World Championships – and if that wasn’t enough, she’s done it twice! In both 2016, and 2018 Evie managed to take this title, as well as taking a Silver medal for Team England in the recent Commonwealth Games in the mountain biking event. For those of you who don’t know what cyclo-cross is, it’s a cycling sport where athletes race on a course which features pavements, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles and requires the riders to quickly dismount and carry their bikes whilst navigating the worst obstructions. It is absolutely brutal and would push anyone to their physical limit – we can only salute Evie for having the kind of determination it must take to become the World Champion in such a demanding sport.
Jarvis Parkinson – Swimming
Jarvis is a swimmer who specialises in medley and freestyle races. At 16 years old he won a silver in individual medley as a junior at the European Championships, two years later at the British Championships in Sheffield, he broke the English record for his age group in the 200m medley (winning the event in under 2 minutes!) and this year, at his first senior international appearance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won two silver medals in freestyle relays! Is he a future star or what?! – If we were inclined to place bets, we’d already be going down to put our money on him for future Olympic Games!
We’re always pleased to welcome new talent into our sporting family and help them to achieve their goals!
If you would like to book one of these athletes to visit your school or organisation to hear more about their inspiring story click here.
Photos from Getty Images
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