tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10803832773114198452024-03-19T21:15:47.944+00:00News and views from Team 17Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-53711240295590255312017-10-31T16:37:00.000+00:002017-10-31T19:01:02.462+00:00Statement - Sophie Hahn MBE <b>A statement regarding Sophie Hahn MBE.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISBZgbGP7v6eKOgHwXlY3ESGSJbT16WgJzFDTEbLt-eV3QVxLlGdMoBm9Yop27LWGbIuV0DKHUxxuVDyx5tVrGrnOaO9aSIJizc99mHbQpImZF1-OfZKRY3-AY-QczaGdTPpozwz9HdE/s1600/SHAH_JH.jpg-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISBZgbGP7v6eKOgHwXlY3ESGSJbT16WgJzFDTEbLt-eV3QVxLlGdMoBm9Yop27LWGbIuV0DKHUxxuVDyx5tVrGrnOaO9aSIJizc99mHbQpImZF1-OfZKRY3-AY-QczaGdTPpozwz9HdE/s400/SHAH_JH.jpg-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie Hahn wins gold at the 2017 IPC World Championships</td></tr>
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Further to today’s DCMS Select Committee hearing, Miss Hahn would welcome the opportunity to provide evidence to
the Committee at the appropriate time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In May 2016 the IPC looked into the classifications of a
number of British para athletes, including Miss Hahn. They concluded that,
following detailed reviews including medical information, all the athletes were
in the correct class, being a class for athletes with a
co-ordination impairment that also encompasses cerebral palsy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is a huge credit to Sophie as a person that while she has
been subjected to repeated baseless allegations of improper classification, she
has focussed solely on continuing to improve as an athlete. Sophie is one of
the hardest working athletes we have ever met and her fierce work ethic and
determination to achieve excellence has been rewarded with multiple Paralympic
and world titles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With athlete welfare such a hot topic in sport today, it is
distressing for any athlete who is in the correct class in Para sport to face
such repeated and unfounded allegations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Neither Sophie Hahn, members of her family, or team, will be
making any further comment on this matter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Ian Byers <br />Director, 17 Sports Management Limited<br />31 October 2017</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-66382662056792301852017-10-08T15:16:00.000+01:002017-10-08T15:16:00.133+01:00Lizzie Jones joins Team 17<div style="text-align: justify;">
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We are proud and excited to announce that the Sporting Soprano, Lizzie Jones, will be represented by 17 Management.</div>
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Lizzie is a professional singer, actress and performer and has performed throughout the UK at many major sporting events, as well as on stage and screen, most notably when she sang the traditional hymn ‘Abide With Me’ live at Wembley Stadium ahead of the 2015 Super League Grand Final. Her performance subsequently reached No. 34 in the UK charts. Lizzie also performed on BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015 as the solo guest singer and closing act, singing ‘Danny Boy’ which spent a week at the No. 1 spot in the classical charts. </div>
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Alongside her musical performances, Lizzie continues to make lots of TV appearances and to work tirelessly on her Charity, the <a href="https://www.dannyjonesdefibfund.co.uk/" target="_blank">Danny Jones Defibrilator Fund</a>. In 2016 Lizzie was voted the 'Inspirational Woman Of The Year' by viewers of ITV's Lorraine show.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWiuHZWSbRfDve9WhkkhH2cdbCD6MrIbMdjd55V8XCVdP7sdNDTPSPBi0LOiwScY9wLa7tH1zhmAkusDKEgQsAo926IybxgjT8_G6LNa5BnSpPy9CveYa90QFDDUHp5r-lTfmPj9y0D4/s1600/RBP10417_034.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWiuHZWSbRfDve9WhkkhH2cdbCD6MrIbMdjd55V8XCVdP7sdNDTPSPBi0LOiwScY9wLa7tH1zhmAkusDKEgQsAo926IybxgjT8_G6LNa5BnSpPy9CveYa90QFDDUHp5r-lTfmPj9y0D4/s320/RBP10417_034.jpg" /></a></div>
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Ian Byers, Director of 17 said; "Working with Lizzie represents a new venture for us at 17. We have been approached by a number of musicians in the past, asking us to work with them, which we have previously declined. However the opportunity to work with Lizzie, with her sporting connection, creates a lot of synergy for our business and we are looking forward to working with her".<br />
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Lizzie said "I couldn't be more excited to join #Team17 so I am super excited for the future and starting my journey with the fabulous team."</div>
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Lizzie is available to sing at events or provide an inspirational key note speech, suitable for any occasion. You can visit Lizzie's<a href="http://www.hannahcockroft.co.uk/"> </a><a href="http://www.lizziejones.co.uk/">website</a><a href="http://www.lizziejones.co.uk/"> </a>for more information about her and if you would like to discuss working with Lizzie, please <a href="http://www.17management.com/contact-us-1.html">get in touch</a>.</div>
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Watch Lizzie sing, the classic; Abide with Me and Jerusalem in the videos below.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PtdOMf-0qI" target="_blank">Abide with Me</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3cNV2VRykE" target="_blank">Jerusalem</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinugLkYYajRIXjtZTdXc9B9yPs9jVA8RS9NpBYuiK0FQx9cZ7xbQUupn-okHH8P2-W3d6qSLORZ8pm6XyHaCsbIbSyXAE-XJEWddcYemOrY4WKWHxEjg-vJ_0xGa3TMJGsGxb23hAqUKc/s1600/pic+sing.jpg"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinugLkYYajRIXjtZTdXc9B9yPs9jVA8RS9NpBYuiK0FQx9cZ7xbQUupn-okHH8P2-W3d6qSLORZ8pm6XyHaCsbIbSyXAE-XJEWddcYemOrY4WKWHxEjg-vJ_0xGa3TMJGsGxb23hAqUKc/s400/pic+sing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You can follow Lizzie on <a href="https://twitter.com/LizzieJonesuk">Twitter</a>.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-90300023457076138522017-07-30T07:16:00.000+01:002017-07-30T17:48:30.228+01:00Amy Hunt signs with 17 Management<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
We are proud and excited to announce that teenage athlete Amy Hunt has signed to be represented by 17 Management.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although only 15 years old, Amy is the current England Athletics Indoor Champion at U17 over 60m. Her time of 7.43 in the 2017 final placed her third on the UK all-time indoor under-17 women’s rankings, behind Asha Philip (7.35) and Jodie Williams (7.38). <span style="font-size: 11pt;">In addition, Amy is currently the fourth fastest over 60m in the U18 age group in the IAAF World rankings.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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Three times English Schools Champion over 100m, Amy, from Newark, tops the Power of 10 rankings in her age group and there is no doubt that she is a huge talent and a great prospect for the future. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje5IVNcvAehn5cz-qC9KGczv5ZALyuIeKG4L2u6J1Eg_PES7TiIktkbHeA0rjoLeExwm9OCm8Vv-ZOe-KLH3y4ck_nTJuE4mEilhABt73yK6n4fKl4JOUVUeBEdaJpxl8NX6YT_qJ2zQ/s1600/English+Schools+2017+Semi-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1165" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje5IVNcvAehn5cz-qC9KGczv5ZALyuIeKG4L2u6J1Eg_PES7TiIktkbHeA0rjoLeExwm9OCm8Vv-ZOe-KLH3y4ck_nTJuE4mEilhABt73yK6n4fKl4JOUVUeBEdaJpxl8NX6YT_qJ2zQ/s400/English+Schools+2017+Semi-final.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Of her future, Amy said “I am very excited to sign with 17 Management and I look forward to working with them. I am very positive looking forward to 2018 with a great team behind me consisting of my coach Joe McDonnell and all of the sprint group, my physio and strength and conditioning coach Paul Farquharson and 17 Management.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Multiple World and Paralympic Champion, Hannah Cockroft MBE, a Director of 17 Management, said "I'm delighted that Amy chose to sign with us, she potentially has a great future ahead of her. I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with Amy."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbHi_n7qSbwSZzOL_fuiUV0i02TA723NM81GQ6vkJI8S_CPS_1q3vafiOLK6JwrREYHjEwGN6xTytPWe3npV_7L1jqpy95co6TMURAj3cfgzvriq0xDrx1B8YytIJ937rGonT52DBSrg/s1600/amy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbHi_n7qSbwSZzOL_fuiUV0i02TA723NM81GQ6vkJI8S_CPS_1q3vafiOLK6JwrREYHjEwGN6xTytPWe3npV_7L1jqpy95co6TMURAj3cfgzvriq0xDrx1B8YytIJ937rGonT52DBSrg/s320/amy2.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Boo Matthews of 17 Management said “Having met with Amy and her family and watched her race, it’s clear that she is an incredible talent, which her stats would confirm. We are really looking forward to working with Amy throughout her development, alongside her parents and team, led by coach Joe McDonnell."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Welcome to #Team17 Amy!</span></div>
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You can follow Amy on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/amyhunt02" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-26716055276010602182016-09-07T10:40:00.000+01:002016-09-07T10:40:51.842+01:00Welsh rugby international, Elinor Snowsill, signs with 17 Management<div style="text-align: justify;">
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We are delighted to announce that the Welsh rugby international, Elinor Snowsill has signed to be represented by 17 Sports Management Limited.<br />
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Elinor, who lives in Cardiff, has to-date won 34 caps at Fly Half (10) for the Welsh women’s rugby team. She plays for the Welsh 7’s side and regionally represents Newport Gwent Dragons. Elinor plays for Bristol Ladies in the Women’s Premiership. Away from rugby, Elinor runs Onest Food, delivering delicious, nutritious food in the Cardiff area. Aside from her work with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Elinor is an accomplished speaker and presenter (in both Welsh and English) she also runs health and nutrition workshops.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Ybib6lBB4NarjxDJOUQECa3yOk0Fw9gJqCBC4WXg-UBw2F89c9JV6T4SW6Ck-uDhje3AMSZdJJEsMyWsAp_OY7J5K5-ymmpNrrbnybHSs8hYOdK0QEl2BMt55Qzbx0a0x_-2jBRWWE/s1600/_SJL3438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Ybib6lBB4NarjxDJOUQECa3yOk0Fw9gJqCBC4WXg-UBw2F89c9JV6T4SW6Ck-uDhje3AMSZdJJEsMyWsAp_OY7J5K5-ymmpNrrbnybHSs8hYOdK0QEl2BMt55Qzbx0a0x_-2jBRWWE/s400/_SJL3438.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo - Simon Latham</td></tr>
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"We are proud and excited to welcome Elinor to the team" said 17 Sports Management Director Ian Byers. "This is a new venture for us, as we have not previously worked in team sports, although it is an area that we have been looking to expand into for some time. Having watched Elinor play and met with her, it is clear that she is a real talent both on and off the pitch and we are honoured that she has chosen 17 to represent her interests. We are really looking forward to partnering with her at what is a particularly exciting time for women’s rugby.”<br />
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Elinor Snowsill said, “I am thrilled to be joining Team 17. Their sincere and passionate approach to sport reflects my own and I am looking forward to developing my rugby career with their support. The calibre of athletes on their books is exceptional and I am honoured to be joining their ranks.”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Away from rugby, Elinor runs health and nutrition workshops</td></tr>
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"Rwy'n hynod gyffrous i fod yn ymuno a thîm 17. Mae eu hagwedd ddiffuant ac angerddol tuag at chwaraeon yn adlewyrchu ar fy ngwerthoedd personol, a dwi'n edrych ymlaen at ddatblygu fy ngyrfa rygbi gyda'u cefnogaeth. Mae safon yr athletwyr ar eu llyfrau yn rhagorol, ac mae'n fraint ac anrhydedd i mi fod yn ymuno â'u rhengoedd."<br />
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Co founder of 17 Management, Hannah Cockroft MBE said "Elinor has had an impressive rugby career to-date and I look forward to working with her. I am so pleased that she has chosen to join Team17.”<br />
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You can follow Elinor on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/elsnowsill?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@elsnowsill</a> and Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/el.snowsill/?hl=en" target="_blank"> el.snowsill</a></div>
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<o:p>#Wales #Rugby #WRugby #Dragons #Bristol #Cardiff #SixNations #Premiership #Sevens #Management #Media #Sponsorship #Sport #Passion #Food #Cymru #Rygbi #Dreigiau #Caerdydd #Rheoli #Cyfryngau #Nawdd #Chwaraeon #Angerdd #Bwyd</o:p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-19106082006487866912016-08-12T22:00:00.000+01:002016-08-14T10:33:38.598+01:00Sixth place and a new British record for Tom in Rio<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />Tom Bosworth, who was competing in his first Olympic Games finished in sixth place in the Men's 20km walk, breaking his own British record in the process finishing with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 13 seconds, 28 seconds quicker than the previous record.<br /><br /> Tom had the race of his life, leading for more than 10k, until he was passed by a group of walkers, as the pace increased, with 2k to go. Tom dug in and managed to stay in contention, passing some competitors in the closing stages to finish in a highly creditable sixth, less than a minute behind the winner.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom in action in the Olympic race walk - photo Harry Dineley</td></tr>
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After the race in Rio, Tom said "I'm in shock at what happened, I just thought I will take it on. The pace was so easy, I thought people would just come with me. I felt good and was comfortable with the pace I was going, but I knew I had the best in the world behind me and I knew they would catch me, but I just tried to hold on."<br /><br /> "I dropped down to ninth at one point, but I thought, 'screw this, I've not led the race for this long to finish outside the top eight and I just went for it. I can't be disappointed with sixth place at the Olympics, to break the British record by such a margin, and at the Olympics, is a dream come true."<br /><br />Andi Drake, who coaches Tom at the National Race Walk Centre in Leeds; "All Tom's technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation numbers were his best ever and he executed his process goals perfectly. Tom walked at his pace and despite being passed in the closing kilometers he did a negative split, to achieve a new British record. This was the best performance by a GB athlete in the race walks since 1972."<br /><br />Tom's manager Ian Byers said; We at 17 Management are all so proud of Tom, we know just how hard he works and how much he has sacrificed to pursue his Olympic dream. To come into the race ranked 37th, lead for over 10k and finish 6th, whilst smashing his British record is an incredible achievement. It should be remembered that Tom is still relatively young in terms of race walking and he can only get better through the next Olympic cycle to Tokyo 2020."<br /><br />Julian Bosworth, Tom's father; "We are so proud of Tom, I can hardly put any words to how I feel right now". Those thoughts were echoed by Tom's partner, Harry, who added; "All his hard work is paying off, we could not be happier".</div>
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Find out more about Tom via his website <a href="http://www.tombosworth.com/">www.tombosworth.com</a></div>
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You can follow Tom on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBosworth?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@TomBosworth</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-57216848250072622242016-07-26T12:45:00.001+01:002016-07-26T16:09:22.819+01:00Nine athletes selected for Rio 2016!<div style="text-align: justify;">
We are so proud that all nine of the athletes, that we represent, who were available for selection for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio, have been selected. </div>
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The Olympic Games take place between 5 and 21 August. Tom Bosworth will take part in the 20k Race Walk and Jade Lally will compete in the Womens Discus.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9sSAwXabJ-FTRXf9uRcSE1aRMZIZz3cmgph2-CseHTCugcGol1LfmwoalylOh1I5GrNHTEbNnKZkwxBfAIg89bnrHjUdCkEwKgpGOCEu2s8Y9RFtdEwWR6lzW10xmHDwNquvTzSlpJQ/s1600/IMG_7423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9sSAwXabJ-FTRXf9uRcSE1aRMZIZz3cmgph2-CseHTCugcGol1LfmwoalylOh1I5GrNHTEbNnKZkwxBfAIg89bnrHjUdCkEwKgpGOCEu2s8Y9RFtdEwWR6lzW10xmHDwNquvTzSlpJQ/s400/IMG_7423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Paralympic Games are between 29 August and 9 September. Our athletes who will be competing are;</div>
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Ben Rowlings - T34 Wheelchair Racer, 100 and 800m</div>
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Hannah Cockroft - T34 Wheelchair Racer, 100, 400 and 800m</div>
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Hannah Russell - S12, 50 and 100m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke</div>
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Jordanne Whiley - Wheelchair Tennis, Singles and Doubles (with Lucy Shuker)</div>
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Julie Rogers - T42 Sprinter, 100m</div>
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Rob Oliver - Paracanoe K1, 200m</div>
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Will Bayley - Para Table Tennis, C7 Singles and Team Competition</div>
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Do spare a thought though for judoka Kelly Edwards who was ruled out of Olympic selection by a concussion injury. The good news is that Kelly is recovering well and will return to competition soon. </div>
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All the very best to our team going to Rio, we will be cheering you on, every step of the way! #Team17 #TheWinningTeam.</div>
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Follow the progress of our athletes on <a href="https://twitter.com/17_management?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/17Management/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/17sportsmanagement/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-88730292350796083672016-07-10T21:58:00.000+01:002016-08-14T11:08:57.769+01:00Jordanne wins Wimbledon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jordanne Whiley won her ninth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, when she partnered Japan's Yui Kamiji to their third successive Wimbledon Doubles title.<br /><br />Jordanne and Yui, the 2014 and 2015 champions, played Dutch second seeds Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot in the Ladies Doubles Final, the pairs know each other very well having met in the last four Wimbledon finals. Unlike previous years the final was a relatively easy affair with Jordanne and Yui winning four games in a row in the first set and five games in a row in the second set to close out a 6-2, 6-2 victory, in just 69 minutes.</div>
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<br />“We’re both in a bit of shock if I’m honest,” said Jordanne. “We never thought we could win three in a row as Jiske and Aniek are so strong but today I really felt like we played the best tennis at a Grand Slam. This, I consider, to be 'the slam.' Everyone wants to win Wimbledon. For me, it's my home. To win at Wimbledon is so special and the crowd today were brilliant. We just love being on court with each other. Yui is always happy. I can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. It's nice for me to have someone on the court who you know every single day, they're smiling and laughing."<br /><br />The result was something of a consolation for Jordanne who had lost to van Koot in the women's singles semi-final earlier in the week.</div>
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Find out more about Jordanne via her website <a href="http://www.jordannewhiley.com/">www.jordannewhiley.com</a></div>
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Follow Jordanne on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jordannejoyce92?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@jordannejoyce92</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-42524027652309974882016-05-17T08:49:00.002+01:002016-05-18T21:59:15.521+01:0017 support the Dragons Invitational Rugby 7's team<div style="text-align: justify;">
17 Sports Management Limited are proud and excited to announce our support of the Dragons Invitational 7's team. The Dragons provide internationally capped players, and those with the potential to play at international level, the opportunity to represent a competitive women's 7s team on the thriving UK circuit. "Having built our business and established our reputation working with talent in individual sports, we have been looking for an opportunity to get involved in team sports, like rugby, netball, football and cricket, said Ian Byers of 17 Management. " The Dragons are a young side, but one that is packed full of exciting talent and experienced 7s players who enjoy their sport. They match our company ethos and we look forward to working not just with individual players but the team as a whole" he added. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hV7vcIYt_tJINeco91HNOb0lzGXJRkDwkM6fgwOnngd1qLfCUcWH21R0qShb4zWI16BW0dWkJtbeG-nBv-bozppQKRTvUHMbjB_UEmMYLcdaptEha7IXUWtvpCOedg4VJCH9VhzfmbQ/s1600/dragons_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hV7vcIYt_tJINeco91HNOb0lzGXJRkDwkM6fgwOnngd1qLfCUcWH21R0qShb4zWI16BW0dWkJtbeG-nBv-bozppQKRTvUHMbjB_UEmMYLcdaptEha7IXUWtvpCOedg4VJCH9VhzfmbQ/s1600/dragons_logo.png" /></a></div>
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"At 17, we are firm believers in the benefits and values of womens sport, which gives outstanding opportunities for brands to increase their profile and achieve significant value. The involvement of companies like Kia with England womens cricket and SSE with their sponsorship of the Womens FA Cup at the top level are testament to this, but opportunities exist at all levels, as is shown by companies such as SIM Gear, Vita Coco and Outback's support of the Dragons. Womens sport continues to grow and it is building greater profile at national level, more women are participating in sport and spectator numbers continue to rise. It is a great time to be involved".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtcidtIPyJqV4go2GbOVg-QQOITLXFO-W7a9l2wYEWojXTvL0TbGBGvJZP1VQN7kMO-FNOLvsgH8tVBNKQ6A22Fofh95brXXj56v6ida17yX4II-syXbewuNHF0_fCPutEnVZgI0ThBo/s1600/10402967_569006876577629_9135536071243590912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtcidtIPyJqV4go2GbOVg-QQOITLXFO-W7a9l2wYEWojXTvL0TbGBGvJZP1VQN7kMO-FNOLvsgH8tVBNKQ6A22Fofh95brXXj56v6ida17yX4II-syXbewuNHF0_fCPutEnVZgI0ThBo/s320/10402967_569006876577629_9135536071243590912_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Speaking about the link, Dragons 7's Director of Rugby, Nigel Francis said, "I'm delighted that we are going to be working with 17, they represent a number of very high profile Olympic and Paralympic athletes and we are very lucky to be the first team they have chosen to represent. I think the link illustrates how far we have come as a brand and I look forward to seeing what the future holds with this exciting venture".</div>
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Watch out for the "17" logo on the Dragons shirts this season, at the following competitions in 2016;</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0/">14th May</a> - Hartpury 7s - CHAMPIONS!</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://1/">15th June</a> - Newquay 7s</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://2/">16th July</a> - Valentines 7s (tbc)</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://3/">6th August</a> - Find Rugby Now 7s</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://4/">4th June</a> - Summer Social</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://5/">18th June</a> - Frome 7s (tbc)</div>
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<a href="x-apple-data-detectors://6/">2nd July</a> - West Country 7s</div>
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For more information on the Dragons vist <a href="http://www.dragons7s.co.uk/">http://www.dragons7s.co.uk/</a> and follow them on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Dragons7s" target="_blank">@Dragons7s</a></div>
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#Rugby #GreenIsTheNewBlack #GoDragons</div>
<!-- o ignored --><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-1690791307753913222016-05-06T14:23:00.000+01:002016-05-06T14:24:15.340+01:00A balanced future for commercialism in sport<div>
This article by Myak Homberger first appeared in Sports International Magazine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0An_7u9GIUriEfY878chOwIe97CZnHIWquCFSeY0VpphR_STt53S3wKdd2QRs98QUz8C7s9Md25AfH2Xn89Qq17djtdDmxeMN4AT646BEU7ORvf_qyUs0JhyBm5yPXwO7XgUjgar15po/s1600/simlogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0An_7u9GIUriEfY878chOwIe97CZnHIWquCFSeY0VpphR_STt53S3wKdd2QRs98QUz8C7s9Md25AfH2Xn89Qq17djtdDmxeMN4AT646BEU7ORvf_qyUs0JhyBm5yPXwO7XgUjgar15po/s1600/simlogo.png" /></a></div>
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Management companies have grown up very quickly over the last couple of years as women’s sport has seen exponential growth and women have been awarded full time contracts. <br />
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With the Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon the quest to sign up athletes is higher than ever before. I thought that it would be good to talk with Ian Byers founder and MD of 17 Sports Management Limited about their unique approach to sports management. What I have liked about Ian and his team from day one has been the care and value they place on the athlete and their wellbeing that far outstrips any financial value to them. It is this ethos that has bound women around the world for years as they have struggled to balance full time jobs and international careers.<br />
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Athlete’s need to train and focus on their sport, but they need money to compete and live yet for so many so much of their time is taken up with trying to be a businesswoman/administrator that they aren’t reaching their potential. What Ian and the team provide is an environment in which the athlete can focus on their training knowing that there are people putting their best interest at the fore and handling the business and administrative side of their lives for them.<br />
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Like so many involved in women’s sport Ian started in a voluntary capacity, helping and managing Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft MBE for 12 months. With a background in the corporate world and no previous experience in athlete management, Ian came to it with a completely different view and approach. As Ian explained “this was a good grounding as each decision was made with Hannah's best interest in mind, at all times, never what was best for me”. Good news spreads fast and soon people were asking for Ian to represent them and 17 Management was born with Ian and Hannah. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah Cockroft MBE and Ian Byers</td></tr>
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Ian describes the ethos of the company in a nutshell, “what is in the best interest of the athlete” he explained and expanded on what he sees as their role “we are a combination of minder, PA, secretary, defender, friend and shoulder to cry on”. To many it may seem that the role of the management company is to get sponsorship but as Ian explained it’s far more than that and it didn’t even feature in his above list which is a lot longer than most would expect of an agent. For a start they communicate with each athlete a few times each week about everything from how training is going, to how they are feeling, to the obvious of potential work. What might surprise many, is that as well as this, the key to any relationship 17 Management have with an athlete is that they spend significant time on increasing the athletes profiles. Ian is very clear that they want to be able to approach potential sponsors with athletes that have profile and are known. As Ian explained “this is the long game” when talking about this strategy and how they see their stable of athletes. The approach is simple, take talented athletes on, look after them and ensure that all their admin and business needs are taken care of. Then build awareness of them and increase their profile all whilst developing a relationship with them by being in contact very regularly so the team can understand the athlete inside out. Only at this point do Ian and the team start to look for sponsorship and revenue streams for the athlete. This is athlete centric management that builds for the future.</div>
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Sponsorship, appearances and speaking events are clearly the core of how 17 Management seek to bring revenue to the athlete’s. Its very easy to take a quick buck and run but Ian doesn’t want to do that, he wants to build a future that is sustainable for the athlete and this is of immeasurable value to them. Having known and worked with Ian for more than a year and seen how the business has grown and the athlete’s that I have had contact with via 17 Management, I can see first-hand how this approach is working and the benefits it brings. The athletes looked after by Ian and the team are just that, looked after and they know it and it is making the world of differences to them. <br />
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For me what is very revealing and sums up Ian and the 17 Management team is his reply when we speak about Rio and their role with their athletes in the build up to it and post Rio. Going into Rio his focus is on shielding them from the pressure of external expectation as well as too many media engagements that detract from their training. Post Rio Ian talked about manging the various issues that come from winning and losing “the value of difference between gold and silver is huge and yet the distance can be minimal, as little as .001 of a second in time.” For the winners Ian’s focus is on once again doing what is best for the athlete and not just accepting every lucrative offer that comes along. He is clear that in the post Rio euphoria the media and sponsorship interest will be huge and the team will be looking after and supporting the athlete to ensure they aren’t pressured into anything. This will include getting down time to recover, fulfil all their commitments and accepting financial deals that retain their core values. This is a tough challenge in a world that loves to maximise the money they can make as quickly as possible at the cost of the athlete, the antithesis of 17 Management. </div>
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For the athletes that “lose” and I use this in loose terms relative to gold, silver, bronze or no medal. My view is that just getting to Rio is an achievement but sport is measured in medals. As a subject this is very rarely dealt with and so I find it surprising that Ian mentions this in the same breath as the winning athletes and his focus post Rio. For these athletes Ian says “it’s about managing the disappointment and ensuring they don’t get forgotten” this comment alone for me shows the ethos and values that are in action. The conversation is always about the winners but there are those that trained as hard and are as committed but on the day didn’t get to that line 0.001 of a second faster than the next person. It’s for these athletes that people like Ian are good for them and why 17 Management is a good example for sports management, transcending the chase for money and winners.</div>
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People like Ian and the team at 17 Management are the measure with which management companies should be compared and I look forward to seeing the benefit of this in women’s sport around the globe.</div>
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This article is reproduced with kind permission of <a href="http://www.sportsinternationalmagazine.com/magazine-articles/a-balanced-future-for-commercialism-in-womens-sport" target="_blank">Sports International Magazine</a>.</div>
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Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsImagazine" target="_blank">@SportsIMagazine</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-20232071504597740872016-04-04T08:06:00.000+01:002016-04-05T18:07:47.945+01:00Jade Lally signs with 17<div style="text-align: justify;">
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We are delighted to announce that the English discus record holder Jade Lally has signed to be represented by 17 Sports Management Limited.</div>
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Jade from Horsham, competed for England in the women's discus at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she won a bronze medal. In 2016 she made the big breakthrough in class throwing in excess of 65m, giving her the qualifying standard for the Rio Olympic Games.</div>
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"We are proud and excited to welcome Jade to the team" said 17 Sports Management Director Ian Byers. "Jade had a number of opportunities to sign with other companies and we are delighted that she chose 17 to represent her best interests. 2016 is a huge year for Jade and we will be working closely with her ensure that she has the best opportunities come the Olympic Games later this year".</div>
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Co founder of 17 Management, Hannah Cockroft MBE said "After a super successful start to the year, breaking the English discus record numerous times, we're excited to see how far Jade can go and we're so pleased that she has chosen us to go on the journey with her. Welcome to #Team17, Jade"! </div>
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Jade said, "super excited to have teamed up with 17 Management. I had many opportunities to sign with other companies but 17 have been on my radar for some time and I'm delighted that we are officially working together".</div>
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Recently Jade gave a very good interview to Spikes Magazine, where she talks about her career to date and her aims and aspirations for the future. You can read the article here <a href="http://spikes.iaaf.org/post/jade-lally-australian-breakthrough" target="_blank">Spikes Magazine</a></div>
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You can follow Jade on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/JadeLallyT69" target="_blank">@JadeLallyT69</a><br />
Through her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Jade-Lally-1711698002445115/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page or her website <a href="http://www.jadelally.com/">www.jadelally.com</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-38323158434127286542016-03-21T08:15:00.000+00:002016-04-05T16:29:46.421+01:00A new British 20k record for Tom Bosworth<div style="text-align: justify;">
British No.1 race walker Tom Bosworth walked into the record books at the weekend when he broke a British record that had stood since 1988. <br /><br />The 35th annual IAAF Race Walk Challenge was held in Dudince, Slovakia and Tom was in great form going into the weekend having beaten his own 3km indoor record just weeks earlier at the British Athletics Indoor Championships in Sheffield. <br /><br />The 20km race walk is the Olympic distance that Tom is hopeful to be contesting in Rio this summer so this was a great opportunity for him to see where his winter training had left him in terms of performance.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pavol Uhrin - fotosport.sk</td></tr>
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<br />After sitting at the back of the lead pack for the first 4km Tom decided to make a risky move and take the lead, over taking some of the big names in race walking in the process, and through working hard over the next few kilometres he had pulled out a gap of around 10 seconds at the half way point.</div>
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The next few kilometres were tough but by managing to grit his teeth and push through, Tom gave it his all to take victory and beat the British record for the 20km walk, that was originally set before he was even born, by 82 seconds.<br /><br />You can follow Tom’s #RoadtoRio via his website <a href="http://www.tombosworth.com/">www.tombosworth.com</a> and on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBosworth" target="_blank">@tombosworth</a><br /><br /> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-88323213819318060002016-02-26T08:38:00.002+00:002016-02-26T08:38:54.684+00:00Devastating news for Kelly Edwards<div style="text-align: justify;">
British judo champion Kelly Edwards, 24, from Telford, is recovering from the devastating news that, due to several concussion injuries sustained during competition in 2015/16, her hopes of qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics are over.<br /><br />Having already won a Commonwealth Games Silver medal, in the -52kg category, Kelly was set to be an exciting prospect for a medal in Rio, however she landed on her head during the Mongolian Grand Prix in July 2015 and has since suffered repetitive symptoms from the injury.<br /><br />Kelly explained “I landed badly on my head in Mongolia, and had a headache afterwards that wouldn’t go, but I just put it down to jet lag as I had been travelling and competing so much to gain the vital competition points to qualify for Rio. However, I saw the team physio who told me I had all the symptoms of concussion and we agreed I should take two weeks off to rest and recover.”</div>
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<br />Returning to competition at the end of August 2015 for the World Championships, Kelly was symptom free and was believed to have fully recovered. After a bad landing during a fight at the Uzbekistan Grand Prix in October, Kelly then suffered more symptoms. Being a competitive and determined athlete, who was desperate to represent her country at the Rio Olympics, and thinking the symptoms would pass, Kelly still went to compete in Portugal just a week later, saying “I knew that if I fought in Portugal I had a big chance of a medal and gaining more Rio qualification points. At that time I just didn’t realise how serious my concussion was.”<br /><br />Returning from Portugal, Kelly took two months off competition, during which time she saw a Neurologist and had scans to determine the extent of any injury and to ensure there was no underlying issue, before returning to training again just before Christmas without any problems occurring. <br /><br />The first international competition of 2016 was held in Cuba during January, where Kelly fought well without any sign of the concussion. However, two weeks later at the Paris Grand Slam, Kelly suffered another blow to her head and all the symptoms returned and it is following this, the decision has been made that in order to fully recover from the head injury, Kelly must take six months away from competition. <br /><br />Kelly gave her reaction to this decision “when I was given the advice of the medical team I was devastated as it meant my Rio Olympic dream was over. However, I’ve read a number of articles about concussion and the long term effects since I was first diagnosed and I now understand that I do need this time to heal.” Adding “I have to accept that as an athlete, I will get injuries and this is just another injury and whilst I would have loved to represent my country in Rio, I shall come back stronger and better after a six-month block of good training and I am excited about the long term future and will be focused on the 2017 World Championships in Budapest.”<br /><br />You can follow Kelly on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Kel_Edwards1" target="_blank">@kel_Edwards1</a> and via her website <a href="http://www.kellyedwardsgb.com/">www.kellyedwardsgb.com</a></div>
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Photograph of Kelly by Lukasz Warzecha <a href="https://twitter.com/LukaszWarzecha" target="_blank">@LukaszWarzecha</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-84191806524888100012016-02-03T18:21:00.002+00:002016-02-04T18:08:33.028+00:00Will Bayley, an article by Spencer Boston<div style="text-align: justify;">
Will Bayley knew this was the most important moment in his life. The years of sacrifice and hard work had finally paid off. The constant pain from his childhood was almost a distant memory as he stood in front of the crowd that still wouldn’t call his name. Will Bayley was standing in Beijing, in the final of the world para table tennis championships. As he stood there, he remembered the crowd in the London Paralympics in 2012, the 5000 people that were screaming for him. <br />
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He had secured a silver medal in London, losing in the final to the German champion. It had been a long two years of hurt, but that was in his past. His life's ambition was now in the present. Years of dreaming and training had led him to this one moment. Today he could officially become the best in the world. The time for dreaming was over, this was reality. The next few moments could change everything; the culmination of a battle that had lasted his entire life. <br />
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Will Bayley was born in 1988 with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that affects all four of his limbs. <br />
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Arthrogryposis is a severe curving of the joints causing serious muscle weakness; this means that Will is unable to flex his affected joints. Most people who suffer with this condition, (one in three thousand in the UK.) are normally afflicted in two joints, Will is severely effected in four. As a baby, he underwent a multitude of bone breaking operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital including the painful procedure of having his feet cemented to his legs. <br />
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Will has no ankles, and doctors feared he would never walk. But Will Bayley was a born fighter. He refused to be beaten, and after many more operations that saw him spend a great deal of his young life in hospital, he began to walk. <br />
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The doctors and nurses were impressed and proud of his bravery, but pride however, can sometimes be followed by disappointment, and no one expected the shock and sadness that came next. <br />
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At the age of seven, Will was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer that develops in the vessels and glands throughout the entire body. <br />
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Yet again Will found himself returning to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Chemotherapy was painful and made the seven year old ill; so ill that he wondered if it was worth all the pain and suffering. Did every day have to be like this? One morning he asked his mother if he had to continue with the treatment. Chrissie, (Will's mother) remembers the moment. <br />
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"We were all watching the television when he said, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said, 'Will I die if I stop?' I said yes. The next morning when I got up, he was sitting by the front door with his bag packed ready to go to hospital." <br />
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Will had to undergo relentless treatment, but he never gave up. <br />
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"I just knew that there was something inside him that was always going to cope and that he would come out fighting,” says Chrissie. "We had to remain strong for Will too. He couldn't know how worried and upset we were. He had so much to cope with on a daily basis that adding to his emotional burden would have been unforgivable.” <br />
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Chrissie paused and looked down at the ground for a few seconds, remembering those dark times. <br />
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“My husband Garry and I did our crying at night. When Will was asleep, we dropped the brave facade and broke down. It was heartbreaking watching our child suffer. But we always kept strong for him, we had to." <br />
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Even though Will is now twenty eight years old, he can still remember those terrible days. <br />
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"Chemotherapy was tough. I went through a lot of pain and hardship as a kid and I kept having setbacks. I got infections, ulcers and had to keep going back into hospital. I did feel like giving up lots of times, but something inside kept driving me on." <br />
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Will recalls the camaraderie of Great Ormond Street Hospital. <br />
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"Even though the treatment was terrible, and I felt awful at the time, I slowly started to improve. That was because there were so many other children going through similar things as me. We all played together and gained strength from each other." <br />
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It was while he was gaining strength from his friends in hospital that his grandma bought him a table tennis set. The idea was to distract him from the realities of his illness and to help with his rehabilitation. <br />
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"I was really into sport before my cancer was diagnosed," says Will, "mostly football, so while I was recovering my grandma said I should try to be more active. It's all because of her that I discovered table tennis." <br />
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It couldn't have been more perfect, not only did Will have a natural aptitude for the sport, but the sport seemed to be suited to his problems. <br />
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"You just need to stand at the table when you first start," says Will, "then you slowly get into it, moving faster with a focused purpose. It's a great sport for the mind as well as the body." <br />
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Will loved his table tennis set and played whenever he could. The passion and potential he had for the sport was becoming obvious. After a while, the garage wasn’t big enough to hold his enthusiasm, Will needed a new challenge. With the support of his family, he ventured to Tunbridge Well's Byng Hall Table Tennis Club to see if he could improve his game and take on some new competition. He could barely walk, but he was ready to take on all challengers. Gary Howes, who has coached Will for fifteen years, was at the club that day. <br />
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"When Will came into the club he could barely walk because of his condition. I had to specially cut one of the handles of a bat so that it would fit into his hand. But he showed incredible promise." <br />
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It wasn’t long before Will was winning local and national tournaments, and his hard work and dedication would soon be noticed and tested to the limit. At the age of seventeen, Will was asked to move from Groombridge in Tunbridge Wells to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. <br />
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There he would be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Olympic gold medalist Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE and world champion boxer Amir Khan. Will describes how being among the greats has helped him and his colleagues. <br />
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“Mixing with disabled and able bodied athletes is a huge inspiration. To be around such great sports people who were and are winning world championships breeds a new and stronger desire to win things. Since being at the English Institute of Sport I’ve worked harder and played harder. My game has improved so much, and that is because living among so many people with the same desire makes winning and training almost second nature. It’s something that must be instilled in every athlete with world title ambitions.” <br />
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Will cannot praise the Institute highly enough. <br />
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“We are drilled so effectively each day, that playing table tennis becomes a natural instinct rather than something to dwell on. When you are in a tournament and playing some of the best players in the world, you don't have time to think. Not even for a split second. When you are playing at an International level of sport, you don't think, you feel. You almost go into automatic pilot. All the years and years of intense training come down to one moment. I have practised a million forehands so that I can play one instinctive shot in a world championship final. That's how hard you have to train to be the best. A thousand hours of practice for one second’s use." <br />
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Hard work is a strong trait in Will, and since moving to Sheffield he trains six hours a day six days a week. <br />
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"We grind out techniques, lots of basic exercises in the morning and service practise in the afternoon. On Saturdays we play a competition. It’s hard, but you work through the pain. Sometimes I get home and I can barely walk, but it’s worth it because training regularly means that fatigue is never a problem in a big game or tournament.” <br />
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It was this attitude that helped Will in the 2012 London Paralympics. Will was selected for the England team and was soon making his way to the final. Beating world class players in every round didn’t mean that nerves wouldn’t creep into his game. It wasn’t long before Will found himself standing in the wings anxiously waiting to play the final against his biggest rival, the German champion Jochen Wollmert. It was a sellout crowd and the pinnacle of everything Will had been training for all his life. <br />
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"It's the only time I've ever been scared at a tournament,” says Will, “I was in the holding area in London waiting to go out and play the final. A ball girl came up to me and said 'Will, there are 5000 people out there waiting for you and millions of people watching on TV. Good luck.' I thought, oh God, that's all I need, more pressure." <br />
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The match lasted forty long gruelling minutes. Nerves from playing in front of his home crowd had an effect on Will's performance, and his opponent Jochen Wollmert played an excellent tactical game. Will eventually lost 3-1 and collapsed on the ground in tears. Jochen, a long time friend and sporting nemesis walked around the table and picked him up. He paid tribute to Will and showed some sympathy at the way a home crowd can sometimes be a hindrance in the biggest sporting event in the world. <br />
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Jochen says, "It was a big game and a fantastic crowd. My dream was to make it to the final against the local matador Will Bayley. The last time I won against him was in Beijing, and since then, I have lost against him six times. It was emotional for Will in front of his home crowd because they celebrated him with every shot he played. He respected that and returned the favour with lots of fist pumps and fought with his life for every point. But that kind of pressure can make you nervous. I could see that today." <br />
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Will left the 2012 Paralympics with a silver medal. For most people that would be a major achievement, but Will Bayley isn’t most people, he was proud but devastated. He had lost in front of his home crowd at the biggest sports tournament in the world. He was determined to make things better, but he would have to wait two long agonising years before he could do that. The World Championships were to be held in Beijing in 2014, and Will had already made his mind up, he would become World Champion. <br />
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Hard training was followed by even harder training until finally, Will arrived in Beijing. The World Championships were exactly as Will expected, and his opponents were as focused as he was. Game after game, round after round, Will beat everyone that was put in front of him. Soon he was in the final, the biggest game of his life. <br />
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His opponent, Maksym Nikolenko was, and is an exceptional player. Becoming world champion was about to get even harder. The final was tough and the two players were evenly matched. The points were close and as the match came to a close, Maksym needed time to gather his thoughts. He was two points away from being world champion, he needed to focus. Will only needed one more point, and it was his serve. The pressure was unbearable. <br />
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Maksym walked to the left side of the table and rubbed his fingers across the wooden structure. He stroked the table, almost touching the net. He was breathing slowly and trying to regain his composure. He stroked the table again. <br />
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The umpire spoke coldly, <br />
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“Continue please,”<br />
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Maksym walked back to his side of the table. Will watched him, equally trying to keep his cool and remain focused.<br />
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“Are you ready?” Will asked calmly. Maksym replied, <br />
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“No,” he paused for two, maybe three seconds, Will waited patiently, then Maksym crouched down. Slowly, with a voice filled with emotion, he said “Now I’m ready,” <br />
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Will bounced the ball on the table, then again, twice more. He paused, taking it all in. This was it, one shot away from being World Champion. The nerves were coursing through his body, but the years of practise were kicking in. He needed to focus. He bounced the ball three times more. One last breath, and then he served. The ball came back, Will countered with a backhand, but Maksym returned again, backhand, return, backhand. Game over, Will Bayley was World Champion. He screamed, he punched the air; he pulled his shirt off and threw it to the ground. <br />
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“Yes!” he cried as he fell to his knees. <br />
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Exhaustion, nerves and relief ricocheted through his body as he fell forwards and lay face down on the ground weeping. Crying for England, crying for his coach, crying for his friends and family and most of all, for himself. For all the years of pain and trauma. For the countless hours of exhaustion on the training tables and operating tables. For the courage and determination that had driven him to this one moment in time. <br />
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Will Bayley was the World Champion. He was officially the best in the world. A world where we complain so much about so little. A world and life so many of us take for granted. Will Bayley started life with a disability that caused him tremendous pain every day. Facing cancer as a child and defeating it. Finding his passion and using all of his inner strength and determination to become the very best. <br />
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Using this power of positivity, Will wants to make a difference to people around the globe. He is convinced that table tennis is the right sport for children with disabilities and wants to encourage as many kids as possible to pick up a paddle.<br />
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"From the minute I picked up the bat I loved it! I think overcoming the hurdles I’ve had in my life has made me more determined to be successful and get the best out of myself every day. I see life as a gift. We should all try to get the most out of every second. My dream is to inspire other cancer sufferers and disabled children into sport and show them that nothing is impossible." <br />
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Will Bayley can teach us all a valuable lesson about life. He doesn't have time for self pity and he doesn’t allow the minor irritations that plague most of us on a daily basis. He knows what is important, because he nearly lost it all. He understands what matters. Life is a gift we should open every day. We should unwrap it with the smile and joy of a child. We all have problems, but we all have reasons to be thankful. We all have the power to choose how we feel every day. Will chooses to be happy. He chooses positivity. He chooses to embrace every moment of life and live it to the full. How many of us can say that?</div>
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Our thanks to Spencer Boston for his permission to reproduce his article in full.</div>
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Follow Will Bayley on Twitter <span id="goog_248219208"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">@WillBayleyTT<span id="goog_248219209"></span></a></div>
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Follow Spencer Boston on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/haikushadow" target="_blank">@haikushadow</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-54054075589081231512016-01-22T14:08:00.000+00:002016-01-22T17:47:27.497+00:00Will Bayley joins 17 Management<div style="text-align: justify;">
Will Bayley, the reigning World Champion and World Ranked Number One Table Tennis (C7) player, has signed to be represented by 17 Sports Management, the company co founded by Hannah Cockroft in 2014.<br />
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Will (28) from Tunbridge Wells was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that affected all four of his limbs, he underwent numerous operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital from the age of three months old. At the age of seven Will returned to Great Ormond Street for chemotherapy when he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was while recovering from cancer that his grandmother bought him his first table tennis table, which started Will on his sporting journey. </div>
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Will represented Paralympics GB in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and then went on to win individual silver and team bronze medals at the London 2012 Games. Will first became the World Number One ranked player in 2012.</div>
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"We are excited to welcome Will to the team and are very pleased to be working with him" said 17 Sports Management Director Ian Byers. "Will had a number of opportunities to sign with other companies and we are delighted that he chose 17 to represent his interests. Will is a special talent and we will work closely with him and his coaching team to manage his career, maintaining the correct balance at all times between his training, competition, commercial and media activities. Nothing will be allowed to disrupt his preparation for Rio, where he has a real chance of winning a gold medal".<br />
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Co founder of 17 Management, Hannah Cockroft MBE said "I am delighted to welcome Will to the team, I look forward to working with him and sharing experiences on our journey to Rio and beyond".</div>
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Will said, "I am pleased to join the team at 17 Management, I have been impressed with the work that they have done with a number of my friends and team mates. I like their way of working and I know that they will always have my best interests at heart".</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will was chosen as one of the faces of the Paralympics GB Supercharge campaign</td></tr>
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17 Sports Management, represent the interests of a number of disabled and able bodied sports people, from up and coming talent to World Champions. More information on the company and the athletes represented can be found at <a href="http://www.17management.com/">www.17management.com</a></div>
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Watch out for Will's new website coming soon; <a href="http://www.willbayleygb.com/">www.willbayleygb.com</a></div>
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You can follow Will on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/WillBayleytt" target="_blank">@WillBayleytt</a> </div>
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#TableTennis #WorldChampion #TeamGB #Supercharge #Rio #London2012 #Beijing</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-77474906363319481502016-01-07T12:12:00.001+00:002016-01-07T12:14:13.115+00:00Richard Browne Jr injured in car crash<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Browne (24) was travelling in a car which was hit by a lorry that had failed to
stop at a red light. After two nights in hospital, Richard was released and he
is now recuperating at home in Florida.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Richard's manager, Ian
Byers of 17 Management, said "Richard is badly shaken up and in a lot of
pain at the moment, but he was very lucky. Doctors have advised that he should
rest for 3 weeks, which will impact on his winter training and may mean that we
have to review his early season race plans. However, Richard has overcome far
greater adversity in his life and I am confident that he will be in top shape
and ready to challenge for a place on the US Olympic team over 200m and to
contend for two individual gold medals at the Rio Paralympic Games”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.richardbrowneofficial.com/">www.richardbrowneofficial.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/winged_foot" target="_blank">@winged_foot<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-39497174306853448132015-12-20T09:04:00.002+00:002015-12-20T09:05:37.062+00:00Jordanne Whiley - SPOTYOn Sunday evening, US Open Champion Jordanne Whiley will grace the stage at the BBC's annual Sports Personality of the Year Award, when she presents the "Unsung Hero" award, alongside Eddie Izzard. <br />
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Should Jordanne however have been nominated for the SPOTY shortlist? David Fearnhead makes the case for inclusion,in his article which first appeared in The Huffington Post.<br />
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<em>There is a glaring omission from the BBC Sports Personality shortlist this year. A tennis champion has been overlooked. Though we are told that being a champion is not a sole condition of a nomination. </em><br />
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<em>Lucy Bronze is on the list. The first female footballer ever to be there. I've interviewed Lucy and she's as impressive and articulate sportswomen as you're likely to meet. Following her nomination she posted the following on her official Facebook page:</em></div>
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<em>Not going to lie I was very much bewildered and humbled by my nomination for this years SPOTY awards! I haven't won a gold medal, I don't have a trophy and I'm not number 1 or even the captain of my team. So I actually looked up the meaning of the award, and it made a bit more sense;... "whose actions have most captured the public's imagination."</em><br />
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<em>There is no doubt that England's Lionesses captured the public's imagination, even if Bronze herself is a little bewildered as to why she should be singled out from what was a team effort. The same is true for cyclist Chris Froome. The Tour de France is a team effort, sure one man gets to wear the yellow jersey but that is down to the sacrificial effort of his teammates who ensure he remains on top. </em></div>
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<em>For a time cycling seemed to have a strange monopoly on the trophy, and there are two in this years contest along with a rugby league player, a swimmer, a gymnast and yes a boxer. Tyson Fury has received more coverage for his views on homosexuality than he has for becoming World Champion. Controversy is now more rewarding of column inches than sporting achievement. Fellow nominee Greg Rutherford even thought to scrub his own name from the list in disgust.</em></div>
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<em>Rutherford has been dubbed the forgotten man of athletics, his gold in London was eclipsed in the media by those of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah on what was dubbed Super Saturday. Yet even athletics in the Olympic year of 2012 could not secure the SPOTY title which again went to a cyclist.</em></div>
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<em>Then there is Lewis Hamilton, who had the best car and was better in qualifying than his German teammate therefore assuring him the title. Indeed for the entire F1 season only one race, Hungary, was won by a driver not qualifying on the front row of the grid (positions 1 and 2). And even then it was won by the driver who'd qualified third. </em></div>
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<em>The racing has gone out of F1, which is now little more than a high-speed procession interspersed by a few pitstops. It's hardly inspiring stuff. You can't blame Hamilton, he can only race in the era he was born in, but until F1 becomes more competitive we'll never see what Hamilton is truly capable of. Nevertheless, Hamilton's fans are internet savvy and will probably ensure a second title in succession for their man. </em></div>
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<em>In Andy Murray we have the opposite. British tennis is not a world force by any stretch of the imagination and yet Murray lifted the entire nation to become Davis Cup champions. They say no one man wins a team event, but Murray surely tested that theory to the limit. He put country before Grand Slam single success and the result was Britain became World Champions. Murray deserves the crown, but he is not the tennis champion that has been overlooked. </em></div>
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<em>That would be Jordanne Whiley. </em></div>
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<em>A year on from a Grand Slam doubles clean sweep, the wheelchair tennis player became singles US Open Champion. The very title that saw Andy Murray voted sports personality of the year in 2013, yet this year it's not deemed good enough to even warrant her name on the shortlist. </em></div>
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<em>I know I'm not first to say it, and certainly I'm amongst the many to think it, but the fact that Whiley was not even shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality Of The Year makes a mockery of a competition which is meant to celebrate British Sportsmen and Women who inspire.</em></div>
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<em>I don't agree with nominating someone just to show representation for disability sports, I believe every nomination should be there on merit. And on merit, Whiley deserves to be shortlisted at the very least.</em></div>
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This article first appeared in the Huffington Post on 16 December, the original piece can be found here;</div>
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You can follow David Fearnhead on Twitter:<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/dafea" target="_blank"><strong>www.twitter.com/dafea</strong></a><strong> </strong></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-27190705988995840232015-12-19T08:15:00.001+00:002015-12-19T08:15:35.459+00:00Richard Browne talks to Interview Maagazine<div style="text-align: justify;">
Richard recently took time out of his busy schedule to talk to Emma Brown of New York's Interview Magazine. The result is a superb interview which gives giving a real in depth look at the life of an elite athlete, competing with a disability.</div>
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We have replicated the interview in full. The original article can be found on the Interview magazine website, here; </div>
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As American sprinter Richard Browne Jr. gets ready to race, the first thing you notice is his build—unlike distance runners who are small and wiry, Browne is 6'3" and nothing but muscle. The 24-year-old Jackson, Mississippi native looks like the running back of an NFL team. Once the whistle blows, however, and Browne starts to run, the only thing you can think of is his speed. Take, for example, the 100-meter final at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha in October: Browne thrashed his competition, winning by more than you would think is possible in just 100 meters. Currently, he holds three T44 world records: the 200-meter sprint (21.27 seconds), the 100-meter sprint (10.61 seconds), and the 60-meter sprint (6.99 seconds). "The only sprint record I don't have is the 400-meter," the athlete explains. "I want that one too, to be honest."</div>
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<br /> If you're wondering why you haven't heard of Browne or seen him on Billboards in Times Square, the answer is depressingly simple: Browne is a para-athlete; he had one of his legs amputated in 2010, following an accident in 2007, two weeks in a coma, two months in the ICU, and 14 surgeries, and runs with a blade. "I did everything possible to save my leg," he recalls. "[But] in 2010, I was a freshman in college and not able to live my life the way any 19-year-old would, so I decided to get it cut off. It was the best decision of my life."<br /><br /> Browne wasn't a runner before he lost his leg (he had played football, but was never passionate about it). The second eldest of 10 children, Browne planned to be a math teacher and studied physics at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Two years after his amputation, however, he took home a silver medal at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Although the United States did show Browne's win retrospectively, they did not televise the majority of the games (NBC showed five and a half hours of taped highlights, which, when compared to coverage broadcast by Channel 4 in the U.K., seems pretty feeble).* The upcoming 2016 games in Rio will be the first time the U.S. has shown the Summer Paralympics live on television since Athens in 2004 and is slated to receive over 60 hours of coverage.<br /><br /> "Most people [in the U.S.] don't know we exist—it's worse than being ignored," says Browne. "I remember coming back from the 2012 Games. The whole team, we flew back together, and people were like, 'Are y'all some kind of special team?' The Paralympic Games is the biggest sporting even in the world, we just represented our country, and when we get back to that country, no one knows what happens." <br /><br />At the moment, Browne is based in Cambridge, England, where he is working with a new coach experienced in training para-athletes Hayley Ginn. Needless to say, he is a favorite for Rio.</div>
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<br />EMMA BROWN: Did you like growing up with so many siblings? <br /><br />RICHARD BROWNE JR.: It was awesome being in such a big family. We're super competitive amongst the boys. All of us play a different sport, whether it's football, basketball, or track. It keeps you on your toes because you have your younger brothers that want to be better than you and then you want to be better than your big brother. It keeps us going. At Thanksgiving and Christmas we always play football and basketball. That's the tradition amongst the boys. The girls, they're usually girls—except my sister Cheyenne, she runs track for Ole Miss, and she's usually with the boys. My other two sisters are super girly-girly. <br /><br /> BROWN: When did you start running?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: 2010. I lost my leg in February of that year and six months later I was in Edmonton, Oklahoma for my first track meet ever.<br /><br /> BROWN: That's so quick!<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: It was a quick turnaround. I got my walking, every day prosthetic and I was playing basketball again and playing football. My prosthesis said, "You know they make running legs. You should try it out. They have track meets." I Googled it and came up with Oscar Pistorius and Jerome Singleton and April Holmes and Marlon Shirley. I've been running ever since then. I didn't know anything about U.S. Paralympics, or any Paralympics, actually, before losing my legs. It fell into my lap. It was a gift. <br /><br /> BROWN: When did you first consider becoming a professional runner? <br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Honestly, it was my first coach ever. I went to Disney and ran at a meet there. I think I went 11.40 [seconds in the 100 meters], which was a fast time back then but today is not very fast. He was there and he was like, "I've been wanting to coach a Paralympic athlete and you're here now, so I feel like this is us crossing paths for a reason." I'm a true believer in everything happening for a reason, so when he said that, I packed my bags and went back to Orlando to train for the 2012 Paralympic trials in Indiana. I trained hard for about two months with him, and then I ended up making the team, going to London, and winning a silver medal. You can say I turned pro after the games in 2012. It was a really quick turnaround. I went to Crystal Palace in London, England, that was my first-ever international meet, my first time out of the country in my life. The guy who beat me was actually Jonnie Peacock, the Paralympic champion, and I came in second to him again the following year. <br /><br /> BROWN: I was reading some of your past interviews, and a few of them talked about your rivalry with Jonnie Peacock.<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Yeah, I really don't like Jonnie. Me and him have been in the sport together since 2011, so it's hard to say I don't like him as a person because we've really broken down doors—before us, besides Oscar, there really weren't any fast runners. Jonnie Peacock was the first to ever really push the barriers—he went 10.85, and that was the first time we really thought a single leg amputee could run that fast. When I came along, I began to run 10.7s and that kind of fired everything up between us. I was the world recorder holder; he was the Paralympic and world champion at the time because he beat me in 2013 by .01 [seconds]. I think that race in 2013 is what really started the rivalry. It was such a close race. It was really intense World Championships because we were the favorites going in. As far as now, I love beating him. I'm not going to lie. When he's on the track, I do push a bit harder. There's definitely still a rivalry there.<br /><br /> BROWN: But it's just on the track?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: I wouldn't go out for a beer with the guy, but it's mostly track. We're very, very different people. He's more the true British guy and I'm the American loud-mouthed jock. Our contrasting styles make it a rivalry; it's the American vs. the Brits. It's just a lot of different layers to the situation. But it's awesome for the sport. Since the rivalry started the world record has dropped two-tenths of a second, and it's only been over the last year and a half. It's been pretty quick in advancing the entire sport, and now you have the younger guys—Felix Streng from Germany, Arnu from South Africa—who are wanting to run fast. <br /><br /> BROWN: Looking at videos of you racing the 100-meters in Doha, you won by so much it's hard to imagine anyone being a threat. Is there anyone you're looking out for in Rio?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Not in the 100 meters. You have Jarryd Wallace, my fellow American, and he ran 10.71 in the Pan-American games this year in Toronto, but honestly I feel like I'm a head above the rest at the moment. Even with my performance in Doha, I was only working with my new coach in Cambridge for about three weeks and we changed so much and got so much faster. I went from 10.72 to 10.61 over three weeks, and it was a few technical changes here and there in form—we didn't really train hard. Now that we have better form, we can train hard and get faster. I really haven't had any consistent training because I keep having kids. [laughs] I have three beautiful kids and they push me very hard.<br /><br /> BROWN: How old are they?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Three, one and a half, and then my new son are only about two months. I have two boys and a little girl. I won't have a family as big as my family, but at this rate...but it's been amazing. The only thing I don't like is I made the sacrifice to move to Cambridge for my career, London being the epicenter for para sport. It's been a good move for me, but it's been hard to be away from my kids. <br /><br /> BROWN: Is your three-year-old old enough to understand what you do?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: He is a track fanatic. He does, "Set, go!" He loves to get into blocks with me. He was at nationals with me. He came to worlds with me. He loves track and field. I remember calling him right before the 100-meter final [in Doha], because he went home, and he goes, "Go Da-da, go!" Now my daughter's starting to say, "Set, go!" Hopefully I'll have a couple of runners in the 2036 Olympics.<br /><br /> BROWN: Do you think the Paralympics should exist separately from the Olympics? Or should there be Paralympic events in the Olympics?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: The only reason I would say keep it separate is because we are separate. No matter how hard I try, I can never be as good as a Bolt. <br /><br /> BROWN: You're pretty close.<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: I'm close. I want to get even closer. But despite how good we are, our disability will always limit us. We can get very, very close to that limit, but it's still going to be there. It's one of those situations where I do think we should remain separate and let us be our own entity. I just think the people who are in charge can do better things to get us to the world. The American public really don't know what para sport is. They think we're part of the Special Olympics—and nothing against the Special Olympics, but being mentally and physically disabled is different. America as a whole needs to wake up, not only to disabled sport, but disability in general. We're bigger than our disabilities. Everyone out there has a story, but we're bigger than our story. <br /><br /> BROWN: Did people treat you differently in your day-to-day life after you lost your leg?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Definitely. I think the biggest thing to get used to was being stared at because you have one leg or you have a disability or you're in a wheelchair or you're blind. Any Paralympian you talk to, no matter what their disability is, I think that's the biggest part—just being different from the general public. Then after you get past that, it's, "Oh wow, you're an athlete on top of that?" You don't want people to be like, "Oh, that's so great, we're just happy that you're here," because you're good at what you do. It's a catch-22; you don't want to just be looked at because you are disabled but you are disabled so you have to be looked at. It's really hard to deal with mentally—you really, really want to be looked at as a normal athlete, but you're not a normal athlete, so how do you go about it?<br /><br /> BROWN: But you look like an athlete. You like an Olympian.<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: The rigorous training that we go through is the same that a [Usain] Bolt will go through, Justin Gatlin, Allyson Felix. I literally trained with Gatlin for a year. Everything he did, I did. He had the best season of his career; I had the best season of my career. We do everything an able-body does, it's just we have one leg or are in a wheelchair or whatever the case might be.<br /><br /> BROWN: How did you meet your new trainer Hayley Glinn?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: I've actually known Hayley since 2012, we met through Jonnie Peacock—she was around the games and we built a relationship over the last three or four years. She's pretty much the most knowledgeable person in the planet when it comes to running mechanics with a blade, and I'm at the point now where I'm pushing conventional knowledge—no one thought an amputee could run faster than 10.5, and now it's, "Oh, when is Richard going to run 10.3, 10.2." And she's the coach that's going to get me there because I have to worry about different equipment. Unlike an abled-body, I have my prosthetic leg to worry about and I have to change the angles on it to be able to do certain things. Just those extra idiosyncrasies that an able-body doesn't have to worry about and a normal coach wouldn't know, she knows everything about. We made a couple of changes here and there and I dropped a tenth of a second so it's been working pretty well.<br /><br /> BROWN: Do you customize your running leg?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Everything is pretty much custom on my running leg, [or] any prosthetic. A lot of amputees don't know that they can be as finicky and as particular as they want to be about their prosthetic. I'm one of those people who is very particular. You could put a penny in my leg and I would feel the difference. You get very, very close with your leg. My leg even has a name, we call it Earl. My leg is my livelihood, my best friend, my training partner. My leg is the most important piece of equipment I have, without it I can't run. We do very, very strenuous testing and working with my leg—the angles and how it fits and all those different things.<br /><br /> BROWN: What made you finally decide to move to Cambridge?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: I hit a wall. I got to 10.7 and I couldn't go any faster, which is fast enough to beat everyone I'm racing against, but I like to push—I want to go faster. I'm going to go 10.2 in Rio and 20.1/20.2 in the 200. Alan [Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira] from Brazil says he's going to go 19 seconds. In the 100, I don't have any competition. In the 200, it's going to be a battle between me and the Brazilian and he's the hometown favorite. I love going to Rio; I've been Rio about four or five times over the course of my career and it's absolutely beautiful down there and the people are super supportive of Paralympics, but him being the hometown favorite...I remember running against Jonnie [Peacock] in 2012, and when they called his name the crowd erupted, the ground shook under my feet, and I can remember saying, "Wow. I really hope America gets the Olympics before I retire, because to run in front of your home crowd, that has to be amazing."<br /><br /> BROWN: In one of your interviews, you said you preferred the 200-meters.<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Oh, definitely. The 200 is my baby. I love the fact that I can actually race. The 100 is pretty much get out and go; it's over before you can even think. In the 200, you have time to prepare. It's still an all-out sprint, but it's a tactical race. <br /><br /> BROWN: Is it hard not to get complacent when you win a race by so much?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: At first, it was. But I remember Gatlin pulled me to the side one day in practice and was like, "When you're the best at what you do, you have to race yourself. Every day you wake up and look in the mirror, and that's your competitor. You're still not the best in the world, because you're looking at somebody every day that you can be better than." My mom, as well. If I brought home a B, I got in trouble. My first grade that wasn't an A was my freshman year of college. I remember quitting track when I first started running, and she was like, "We don't quit things. That's not something that you do in anything you do." I know what goals I want to accomplish: I want to break the 10-second barrier. I want to break the 20-second barrier. When I see 9.9 come across the clock, I'll stop. But until then I'm going to keep training hard and I'm going to push those conventional theories that "amputees can only run..." If it's not me, I do think an amputee could break 20 seconds or 10 seconds.<br /><br /> BROWN: Why were you considering quitting running?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: It was really hard, just getting up every day and putting your body through that voluntarily. Track isn't like other sports; other sports natural talent takes over at some point. Sprinters are born—you can't make someone into a sprinter. I was born with all the right muscles and nice levers, but now I have to train those things and my body has to be very coordinated and all those things that you can't just do by going out on the track. You have to train your body for that. I think that's the hardest part. Everything had come easy to me for the first 19 years of my life. Now that I was actually having to work hard at something, I didn't know how to feel.<br /><br /> BROWN: Did football come easily to you?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Yes. I played football my entire life. I didn't have to go to practice. I could just go to the field and be better than everybody out there. I never wanted to be a professional player. I didn't think that was in the cards for me. I probably had the ability, I started on the varsity team as a freshman, so I was always good at it, but I didn't want to work hard. When I lost my leg and track was placed in my lap, it was the universe showing me, "You need to work hard at something." I don't think there is such a thing as having a life plan; you pretty much have a purpose in life, and I think this is my purpose—not to be great on the track, but to be someone who touches people's lives. I've taught kids how to walk, run. I've shown people that there's life after disability. I've walked into a hospital and people are crying because they just lost their leg, and it's like, "Look at me, you can walk around." <br /><br />I think my biggest goal in life, even with that photo shoot we just did, is to show that you can still love yourself, you can still be an awesome person and whatever you want to be despite your physical disability. Especially when it comes to physical appearance, because I know a lot women, their biggest hang-up is that you're changing physically how you look. As soon as you look at me, if I have on shorts, you can tell that I'm disabled and you're going to judge me by what you see before I say anything, before you know who I am. It's the same for every physically disabled person—anyone sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a prosthetic, blind. Before you see us, you have a pre-conceived notion of "Aww" or sympathy; it's just how humans are. Especially with kids, because kids are mean. And I have three. To grow up being a kid and being different, I've talked to kids who try to hide their prosthetic with things like long socks, but I let kids know that you don't have to. People say I'm flashy and I'm a showoff on the track—it's not that, I'm just really showing appreciation for being alive and the opportunity that I've been given: to travel the world running track, to do something I love and get paid for, to touch people's lives every day. It's one of the best feelings in the world. A little girl told me once, "I want to cut my leg off just like you." She wore braces because she didn't want to get her leg cut off, but when she saw me, she was like, "I'm going to get it cut off now." When you can show people it's okay, that's the best thing.<br /><br /> BROWN: Did anyone do that for you?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Actually, no. I've always taken things in stride. I grew up, not hard, [but] my mom worked three jobs to take care of us. We didn't have everything we wanted but we had everything we needed, so I've always learned you do the best with what you have. I had that instilled in me as a young child from my mom and my grandmother and I'm thankful for that. I've always been a kind of in-your-face guy, but I began to tone that down for some odd reason, I don't know what it was, and people really noticed it. People want a show, people want to have somebody to look to and have that thought of, "It's okay, I can be as strong as I want to be." Some people need that person, a role model. I don't like being called a role model, I don't like being called an inspiration, but those are the things I am now because of what I do. It's really just kids. I've talked to women about their legs, and I've talked to some guys. Most guys are more concerned about things they can do: "I want to be able to go back to work, and am I going to be able to walk?" You can do anything you want to do with a prosthetic; it's just those mental things.<br /><br /> BROWN: Are you close with your mother?<br /><br /> BROWNE JR.: Not very close. The only reason I'm not close is because of my accident. She still feels like it's her fault. She was there when I initially had my accident. The thing is, she did so much for me. She took care of me when I was fighting for my life—literally—every day. She lost her house because I was in the hospital for about three months straight. I lost so much blood that no doctor wanted to touch me. They were like, "He's going to die." So my mom had to beg doctors to operate on me, because everybody thought I was a hopeless case. So for her to go through that, she's amazing. But she's so scared. She saw me fall on the track—she's super supportive of my career, she has all my medals and my pictures and my posters, but she's just like, "Richard, I want you to come home so I can take care of you for the rest of your life." Like any mother would. I have kids and as soon as they fall I just want to take them and hold them. But being a parent, you have to let your kids go at some point.<br /><br /><em>FOR MORE ON RICHARD BROWNE JR, YOU CAN FOLLOW ON HIM ON </em><em>Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/winged_foot?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@winged_foot</a></em><em> OR VISIT HIS WEBSITE <a href="http://www.richardbrowneofficial.com/">www.richardbrowneofficial.com</a></em></div>
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RICHARD BROWNE JR. IN NEW YORK, DECEMBER 2015. PHOTOS: THOMAS WHITESIDE. STYLING: IAN BRADLEY. LAURA DE LEON FOR CHANEL/JOE MANAGEMENT USING SOLUTION 10 DE CHANEL.<br /><em><br /></em><strong><em>* This article previously incorrectly stated that the U.S. did not televise the 2012 London Paralympics and has not televised the Paralympics since Athens in 2004. They in fact showed 5.5 hours of taped coverage for London and televised the Sochi Winter games in 2014. </em></strong></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-43426285864629186252015-10-31T16:08:00.000+00:002015-11-12T17:05:37.370+00:00A Golden World Championships for Team 17<div style="text-align: justify;">
The 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha, Qatar have been a golden occasion for Team17, with three gold medals for Hannah Cockroft, two individual golds and a relay silver for Richard Browne and some great performances from Ben Rowlings.</div>
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Hannah was first in action on the opening day of the Championships, winning gold in a T34 championship record of 17.73 over 100m. This was Hannah's third World title over 100m, having been successful in Christchurch 2011 and Lyon 2013. Next up for Hannah was the 800m, a new event in the World Championships programme but this did not deter Hannah, who won in another new championship record of 2:07.10. Hannah then picked up her third gold medal and third championship record in the 400m on the closing day of the event. <br />
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It has been a very successful World Championships for Hannah with a clean sweep of gold medals. A great achievement seeing as Hannah had never competed in a World 400m or 800m race before and it is a just reward for all of the work that she has put in this year. We look forward to more on track success for Hannah in 2016.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah Cockroft</td></tr>
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Richard started his Championships on the fourth day, cruising through his 200m T44 Semi Final. In the following days Final, Richard was in blistering form, destroying the field to win gold in a new World Record time of 21.27. Richard followed up his 200m gold with a dominant performance in the 100m Final, taking the title in 10.61 to set another new World Record. Richard closed out his championships by anchoring the US 4 x 100m relay team to a silver medal.</div>
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Whilst Richard has had an awesome World Championships, winning gold medals and breaking world records, the future is incredibly exciting as there is so much more to come from this very talented athlete. Watch out for some very special things from "Winged Foot" in 2016, it's going to be beyond incredible.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Browne</td></tr>
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It was a great Championships for 19 year old Ben Rowlings, who was taking part in his first competition on the World stage. Ben managed to successfully qualify for three out of four of his T34, World finals missing out on just the 100m. Ben agonisingly finished in fourth place in both the 400 and 800m, whilst coming seventh in the 200m. </div>
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All in all, whilst Ben did not medal, he has still had a fantastic championships, particularly when you remember that this was his first ever event at world level, there are definitely exciting times ahead for big Ben.</div>
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Ben Rowlings</div>
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"We're very proud of the performance of all of our athletes who competed in Doha" said Ian Byers, Director of 17 Sports Management. "Whilst Hannah and Richard were probably pre-race favourites for their events, they still had to deal with the added pressures that being favourite brings. Seeing them deliver under those circumstances and breaking records too was fantastic. Ben did incredibly well, particularly as this was his first World Championships, he will be far better for the experience of competing at this level" he added. "The knowledge that our athletes have gained in Doha can only be of great benefit when they compete in the Paralympic Games in Rio next year".</div>
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"We really appreciate the support and assistance provided by Hannah, Richard and Ben's sponsors, this valuable support enables them to perform consistently at the highest level. With the Paralympic Games taking place next year, the competition will move up another level and if anybody would like to get on board and support these fantastic athletes, I would be pleased to hear from them" said Ian.</div>
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Follow Hannah on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/HCDream2012?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@HCDream2012</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.hannahcockroft.co.uk/">www.hannahcockroft.co.uk</a></div>
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Follow Richard on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/winged_foot?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@winged_foot</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.richardbrowneofficial.com/">www.richardbrowneofficial.com</a></div>
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Follow Ben on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/BenRowlings?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@BenRowlings</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.benrowlings.com/">www.benrowlings.com</a></div>
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Contact, Ian Byers; <a href="mailto:ian@17management.com">ian@17management.com</a></div>
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Photos courtesy of IPC Athletics / Getty Images.</div>
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#Gold #Medal #GoldMedal #WorldRecord #Athletics #Doha2015 #Paralympics #Rio2016 #Team17 #BeyondIncredible #IPC </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-75507032293722351732015-10-21T19:32:00.000+01:002015-10-22T12:33:31.108+01:00Richard Browne becomes a Pink Ribbon Foundation Ambassador<div style="text-align: left;">
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Having lost his grandmother to breast cancer in 2012, US Paralympic T44 track athlete Richard Browne has become an Ambassador for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. </div>
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"Coming from a large family of nine siblings, my grandmother was very instrumental in my upbringing. I am therefore keen to use my profile to help increase awareness and educate people about the disease and to honour my grandmother" said Richard. "Now that I am based in the UK, I am proud to support the work of the Pink Ribbon Foundation".</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard with Jonathan Prince of the Pink Ribbon Foundation</td></tr>
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Each year 55,000 women and around 350 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer and sadly the disease claims the lives of around 12,000 women each year. One in eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime but the good news is that, more people are surviving the disease than ever before.</div>
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Richard added; "it is important that women keep fit and healthy, I want to encourage them to have a healthy diet, to exercise, to play sport and to adopt a healthy lifestyle which will help them to reduce the risk of breast cancer in the future".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard with the famous Playboy bunny girls</td></tr>
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Welcoming Richard as an Ambassador of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, at an event held at the world famous Playboy Club in London, charity trustee Jonathan Prince said; "we are delighted to welcome Richard, an elite high profile athlete, to help us increase awareness of breast cancer, the need for people to live healthy and active lifestyles, and the work of the Pink Ribbon Foundation. We appreciate him giving up his time and look forward to cheering him on in the upcoming World Championships. I would also like to thank our friends at the Playboy Club for their continued support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, for creating a special Pink Ribbon cocktail and for making us so welcome today".</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard mixes a Pink Ribbon cocktail at the Playboy Club</td></tr>
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The Pink Ribbon Foundation is a grant making trust with a mission to fund projects and provide financial support to charities which relieve the needs of people who are suffering from, or who have been affected by breast cancer or who work to advance the understanding of breast cancer, its early detection and treatment.</div>
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The Foundation is impartial and is committed to bringing together individuals, charities and organisations to fight this terrible disease together. Every year the Foundation invites charities concerned with breast cancer to apply for grants from the money raised. Operating in this way allows the Foundation to help charities both large and small. Any charity concerned with Breast Cancer is entitled to apply for a grant.</div>
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Richard Browne will compete in the IPC World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, between 22 and 31 October 2015. He will contest the individual T44 100m, 200m (an event in which he is the current World Record holder) and the 4 x 100m relay, as a member of Team USA.</div>
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More information on the Pink Ribbon Foundation can be obtained from;<br />
Jonathan Prince, jonathan@pinkribbonfoundation.org.uk, 01689 858877 <a href="http://www.pinkribbonfoundation.org/">www.pinkribbonfoundation.org</a></div>
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Richard Browne is represented by 17 Sports Management Limited;<br />
Contact; Ian Byers, ian@17management.com, 01920 831147<br />
<a href="http://www.17management.com/">www.17management.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.richardbrowneofficial.com/">www.richardbrowneofficial.com</a><br />
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Follow on Twitter; <a href="https://twitter.com/pinkribbonfound?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@pinkribbonfound</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/winged_foot?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@winged_foot</a><br />
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#BreastCancerAwareness #PinkRibbon #Athletics #Playboy <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-34987857110978288542015-10-16T17:55:00.000+01:002015-10-19T18:17:51.454+01:00Hannah Cockroft targets three gold medals at the World Championships<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wheelchair speedster Hannah Cockroft MBE flew to Doha this week looking for glory at her third consecutive World Championships, which take place between 22 and 31 October.<br />
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It's quite fitting that the athlete studying journalism will have plenty to write about when her racing days are done.<br />
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Even as it stands, the 23-year-old is a double Paralympic gold medallist and quadruple world champion – quite a feat for the Halifax-born lass who grew up in the hamlet of Mount Tabor – fit with its gold post box to commemorate one of her London 2012 medals.<br />
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Yet Cockroft continually stresses her desire to remember her roots with the city of Leeds majorly important in the Paralympian’s success story which, in truth, has only just begun. Never mind Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020, at just 23 years of age even the 2024 Paralympics could be on the long-term agenda.<br />
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Hannah has become the female face of wheelchair racing after a sensational five years that has seen her bag eight golds at Paralympics, Worlds or Europeans. But the former Calderdale College pupil can well remember her humble roots joining Leeds City Athletics Club as a teenager to be coached by Paul Moseley.</div>
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These days, Team GB are responsible for the athlete’s coaching which this year has been geared around this month’s World Championships where Cockroft will bid for three golds in the 100m, 400m and 800m T34 class.<br />
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A single gold would act as automatic qualification for Rio and Cockroft heads to Doha as a reigning champion having savoured victory in both the 100m and 200m at the last two World Championships in Christchurch and Lyon, though she now faces a new challenge with organisers shelving the 200m event for the 800m contest. With the Yorkshire ace also tackling the new 400m, three gold medals could be on their way back to Mount Tabor.<br />
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Rest assured Cockroft will be showcasing any future glories in Leeds, a city the Paralympian says has been integral to her transformation to sporting stardom.<br />
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Taking time out of her busy schedule before jetting out to Doha, Cockroft told the Yorkshire Evening Post; “I’m a member of Leeds City Athletic club and I’ve been there at least seven years and Leeds has been really important to me.<br />
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“I had my coach here when I started, I still come and train with the group here when I’m around and it’s nice to come back and have someone who remembers who you were before all the glory and still kind of treats you as that person. They are real friends there, they are real people and if ever for some God forsaken reason everything went wrong they would still be here and I’d fall back on them and they’d still catch me and help me. It’s nice just to have that little safety net there.<br />
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“Next year will be my second Paralympic Games and it just seems weird that London was three years ago already. It feels like it was yesterday and yet it feels like it was forever ago".</div>
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“It’s such an odd thing to think about because so much has happened since then and you don’t want to hang on past glories. But it was just such a momentous occasion that I’ll always live off it and you can see the change in it by just how many competitors are coming through. It’s just amazing.<br />
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“After London I came back to Leeds City Athletic Club where I trained before London to show them my gold medal and when we trained here there were maybe four or five us who trained together. “But I came back and there were old people, young people, people my age, everyone, about 20 people trying out wheelchair racing and I think that is just a pure show of legacy. That is what it is all about – showing people that you might have a disability but actually you can do whatever you want.<br />
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“It’s great and I do see that still every day, there’s so many youngsters that have come through since London that are now world champions, world record holders. It’s amazing and it just shows that actually all these people were sat at home thinking they couldn’t do things when actually they had just raw talent inside of them.”<br />
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Cockroft was that person when watching the Beijing 2012 Games. Four years later, she was one of London’s heros and it would take a brave man to predict anything but another gold rush at Rio this time next year.<br />
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Yet Cockroft actually faces a new challenge in adapting to new distances, a new dimension that the 23-year-old is relishing. Cockroft explained: “We’ve got two new events this year because they have replaced the 200m with an 800m and they added an extra 400m earlier this year. So it’s a great opportunity to have to go to these championships – it’s exciting and it kind of gives me a chance to show that I can do more than put my head down and race in a straight line and I can think about what I’m doing while I’m doing it.<br />
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“It is a challenge and it’s going to be tough because the rest of the world is catching up very quickly. But that’s nice, it’s nice to kind of go out there and show people that there is competition now and it is going to be exciting to watch.<br />
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“I’m doing the 100m, the 400m and the 800m – instead of the 200m – so I guess I’m going for a hat-trick! Fingers crossed that’s the plan. “But it seems scary, I think I am racing six days out of the 10 days’ competition so I know it’s going to be really tough and something totally new to handle. “But I like a challenge!”<br />
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The Doha heat adds another aspect to the size of the task – temperatures are set to reach 37 degrees centigrade tomorrow – and Cockroft admitted: “It’s not going to be who is the fittest and healthiest and fastest, it’s going to be who is handling the heat best. I went out in February as that’s where we had our first race of the season and it was just something else. You really can’t recreate that, it’s horrible!”<br />
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Perhaps, then, Cockroft will be happy to learn that four months of snow are forecast on her return to Yorkshire where the athlete will remain based between now and Rio while she takes a gap year in her degree in journalism at Coventry University. First stop after Doha will be mum and dad Rachel and Graham’s house in Mount Tabor but the Cockrofts are an international family with brothers Joshua and Daniel living in Finland and Pennsylvania respectively and long term the air miles will continue to soar. Cockroft laughed: “I’ve recently moved back home to Halifax and it’s nice to be home. It’s nice to be back where my mum can cook my dinner and dad can wash my car!”<br />
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Cockroft, though, will remain in the fast lane, admitting even after a glut of medals there is still so much more to achieve.<br />
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Assessing how long she might continue, Cockroft reasoned: “For me it’s a tough thing to call because my disability doesn’t have a diagnosis so we don’t know how things are going to impact on it, how it’s going to get worse or get better. There’s a lot of unanswered questions. My plan is to make it to Tokyo 2020. I’d love to see how I feel then and it depends where hosts the 2024 Games. If it’s a country I’d like to visit then maybe we can hold on a bit longer.<br />
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“Obviously the Olympics is the pinnacle of every athlete’s career but I haven’t had the chance to race at a Commonwealth Games so I’d love a chance to do that. “There’s still everything to aim for and everything to race for. And I’m having fun with it so let’s carry it on.”</div>
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Courtesy of The Yorkshire Evening Post.</div>
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Follow Hannah on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/HCDream2012?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@HCDream2012</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.hannahcockroft.co.uk/">www.hannahcockroft.co.uk</a></div>
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#Rio2016 #Doha2015 #London2012 #Gold #Champion #Athletics</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-71437609803027462352015-10-13T09:30:00.000+01:002015-10-19T18:17:33.664+01:00Tom Bosworth talks to the BBC<div style="text-align: justify;">
Race walker Tom Bosworth competed for Great Britain at the World Athletics Championships, is set to feature at the Rio Olympics and is the first athlete on the team to come out as gay.<br /><br /> Coming out is no surprise to my friends, family and even team-mates, even Mo Farah who didn't bat an eyelid when I told him I was gay. I got to know him and others on the Great Britain endurance team prior to the World Athletics Championships in August after we spent a few weeks on a pre-training camp in Japan. </div>
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It was a great chance to talk about it in a relaxed environment and everyone was very supportive of me being the first openly gay athlete on the GB team.<br /><br /> But there were some interesting questions when I told them about my circumstances. My team-mates asked whether I had a partner and how old I was when I came out. They were intrigued by my sexuality and asked me whether I got any stick for being openly homosexual. <br /><br />The truth is that I used to. When I was competing in local athletics a number of years ago, some other athletes called me 'fag' or 'queer'. <br /><br />And when I was at school, when those feelings were still developing, I had my head smashed through a window by a group of boys. Thankfully, that's all in the past now. <br /><br />Whilst my current team-mates were interested to talk about my sexuality, they soon realised there was nothing to be concerned about and all was perfectly normal. It was great that everyone could be themselves as the pressure built in camp before a major championships. <br /><br />It shows you that if someone of Mo's stature can be supportive then there should be no issues from others. I wish that all athletes from my past had been as positive as Mo. </div>
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<br />About four or five years ago, some former athletes in local athletics would verbally abuse me. It was pretty nasty, and made worse by the fact they found it funny. Thankfully, they were in the minority.<br /><br /> In the end, I just ignored them. I realised they had no positive part to play in my life and fortunately I had enough people around me who I could rely on for support.<br /><br /> Sometimes, you have to be a bit thick-skinned about it all and I learned that lesson, sometimes literally, in school.<br /><br /> When I was 15 or 16, I thought I was gay and somehow word got around in school, leading to a really difficult period in my life. Teenagers can be really nasty and half the time they don't even realise what they're saying. It's just ignorance, I guess.<br /><br /> A group of lads used to gang up on me and the worst episode came when they smashed my head through a window after a run-in. I decided not to tell anyone about it, so my parents or teachers didn't know. I guess I was more worried about people blaming me than the students but I had the support of my friends to get me through that tough time. <br /><br />It was a decade ago, so I'd like to think that things have moved on a lot since then, even in schools, and that kids are more tolerant these days. <br /><br />That experience taught me to ignore lone voices. I know there will always be people who have a problem with my sexuality, but one person's opinion doesn't affect me now, as I have support from my parents and partner.<br /><br /> I'm not even sure I can change the opinions of those boys. All I want to do is give a positive message that you can succeed in sport whatever your background. Be it gay, straight, black, white, religious or non-religious - there are no barriers. </div>
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Courtesy of the BBC.</div>
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Follow Tom on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBosworth?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@TomBosworth</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-30680288513079832432015-10-06T18:23:00.000+01:002015-10-07T18:44:23.516+01:00Jordanne Whiley receives her MBE from The Princess Royal<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wheelchair tennis star Jordanne Whiley has today received her MBE from Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.</div>
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"It was an amazing experience to share the day with my family" said Jordanne, "It is a great honour to receive my MBE from the Princess Royal, it's a memory that I will cherish forever".</div>
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Jordanne admitted that when she first received the letter informing her of her nomination; "It's amazing, I didn't expect it at all, I Just couldn't believe it, I thought it was a mistake". "I read the letter five or six times before it started to sink in".</div>
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It's been quite a year for Jordanne, retaining her doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with her partner Yui Kamiji and going to Number One in the World Doubles rankings. Then followed the biggest success of her career to date, in September, when she won the US Open Singles title in New York.</div>
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Jordanne still has two more major tournaments this year, the world Masters Doubles in Los Angeles and the NEC Singles Masters in London.</div>
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Who knows what 2016 will hold?</div>
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You can follow Jordanne on Twitter; <a href="https://twitter.com/jordannejoyce92?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@jordannejoyce92</a> and visit her website <a href="http://www.jordannewhiley.com/">www.jordannewhiley.com</a></div>
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#MBE #BuckinghamPalace #Tennis #GrandSlam #AustralianOpen #Wimbledon #USOpen</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-40728789082276810242015-10-05T20:46:00.000+01:002016-01-15T16:28:24.332+00:00"Winged Foot" signs with 17 Sports Management<div style="text-align: justify;">
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United States Paralympic track star Richard Browne Jr, has
signed to be represented by 17 Sports Management Limited.</div>
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"We are delighted to welcome Richard to #Team17 and are excited to be working with him" said 17 Sports Management Director Ian Byers. "Richard has a
very special talent and we will work closely with him and his coaching team to
manage his career, maintaining the correct balance at all times between his
training, competition, commercial and media activities." "Richard
transcends disability sport, he is the complete package; talented, hard working, with character and
personality. He can run fast, very fast and there is no doubt in my mind that he
will be one of the greatest athletes of all time" he added.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr1b-lGTJdSOxyRNPTkXtUdqNO4hj_RlWUwFELRfQ3kF5ITeSs1kCwlWKOKZ_cDXz6dr0odNiEY5K_D4SKtBPm-xc4CakjfkF4qcMn5ZlTS0_3-CYTb3umEe1B2EwdBL_XrePvMC9BXk/s1600/Snapseed1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr1b-lGTJdSOxyRNPTkXtUdqNO4hj_RlWUwFELRfQ3kF5ITeSs1kCwlWKOKZ_cDXz6dr0odNiEY5K_D4SKtBPm-xc4CakjfkF4qcMn5ZlTS0_3-CYTb3umEe1B2EwdBL_XrePvMC9BXk/s320/Snapseed1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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T44, below the knee amputee sprinter
Richard, known throughout the athletic world as "Winged Foot", took
up running in 2011, after his leg was amputated in 2010 as a result of an
accident back in 2007. He won a silver medal over 100m at the London 2012
Paralympics, a feat he repeated at the 2013 World Championships. The current
world record holder over 60 and 200m, the 100m record is "just out on
loan" says Richard, who recently saw compatriot Jarryd Wallace
break the record.</div>
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Richard's pursuit to be the very best has seen
him recently leave his young family behind in the United States and base
himself in the UK ahead of Rio and the 2017 World Championships in London. "Disappointingly
para athletics in the States is still very small, although the USOC and NBC are
working hard to change that. In the UK and Europe, the profile of the sport is
much higher and the coaches have more experience in working with amputee
athletes" said Richard. "It was a terrible wrench to leave my family behind
in the States and live abroad, but it is a sacrifice that I am prepared to make to be able to achieve my
dreams".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmYVwb85UxqkKu3_68J-UInuLb5AKWK5IWpGvFw2e_TMxkKRdKU3z6VWJTlWBp_I6RP7L4LvKPyvS_rZ1J_8ScJ8vLLmuQW1DPHNkn5gHbJguV7TyPCXG6bMu43yZZWj2Kl2jMztW3jY/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmYVwb85UxqkKu3_68J-UInuLb5AKWK5IWpGvFw2e_TMxkKRdKU3z6VWJTlWBp_I6RP7L4LvKPyvS_rZ1J_8ScJ8vLLmuQW1DPHNkn5gHbJguV7TyPCXG6bMu43yZZWj2Kl2jMztW3jY/s400/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next up on track for Richard is the IPC World Championships in Doha, Qatar,
between 22 and 31 October, where he will compete for three World titles,
over 100m, 200m and in the US team in the 4 x 100m relay. Following which his
attention will be focused on the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016.</div>
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Before Rio however, Richard hopes to compete in
more Diamond League meetings and in races against able bodied competitors, saying "Oscar
Pistorious was really the first athlete to cross over into able bodied races
and he got a lot of recognition for that but unfortunately his personal
situation has since overshadowed everything". "I enjoy the challenge
of testing myself against able bodied sprinters, I want to be regarded as a
great athlete and certainly don't want to be treated as a curiosity".</div>
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Away from the track, Richard has set up his own
foundation; Never Stop Inc. The aim of the foundation being to help specifically
newly disabled people to get back to being active. Richard also campaigns to
promote Breast Cancer Awareness and he will be dying his hair pink in Doha to
honour his grandmother who died from the disease.<br />
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Richard and his team at 17 Management have also been working on a new personal website which is coming soon; <a href="http://www.richardbrowneofficial.com/">www.richardbrowneofficial.com</a><br />
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Despite Richard's success, high level of profile and
colourful personality, other than Ossur who supply his prosthesis, he currently
has no other sponsors. "I was very surprised to learn that Richard is
currently only supported by Ossur" said Ian Byers. "It is obvious
that Richard can offer significant exposure and add value to any potential
commercial partners. I would urge any companies interested in working with him
to get in touch". Ian can be contacted, by Email; <a href="mailto:ian@17management.com">ian@17management.com</a> or
telephone +44 (0)1920 831147.<br />
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17 Sports Management, based in Hertford, UK, represent the interests of a number of disabled and able bodied sports people, from World Champions to up and coming new talent. More information on the company and the athletes represented can be found at <a href="http://www.17management.com/">www.17management.com</a><br />
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You can follow Richard on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/winged_foot?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@winged_foot</a> <br />
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#WingedFoot #Athletics #United States #WorldChampionships #Doha2015 #Paralympics #Rio2016 #London2017 #NeverStop<br />
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Photographs courtesy of Peter Milsom Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-68246651664710631372015-09-14T05:30:00.000+01:002015-09-14T14:29:41.373+01:00Jordanne Whiley - US Open Singles Champion<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />Jordanne Whiley made history on Sunday at the US Open after becoming the first British woman to win a wheelchair tennis Grand Slam singles title.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fdaFZd-rqaLQ8dHCWnQh8f6AKrg2oY67r_MKiHWVAWSsKbdlAXxeF0WN4TKMoCaHQL9zuFNjzD6oZUdu3lMPuwsVPxZ93qSmnSGpqGvAtKX-yIpdsyiHo2aB_PbqNQRAqQCPO19Ww0s/s1600/Jordanne+Whiley+US+Open+singles+trophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fdaFZd-rqaLQ8dHCWnQh8f6AKrg2oY67r_MKiHWVAWSsKbdlAXxeF0WN4TKMoCaHQL9zuFNjzD6oZUdu3lMPuwsVPxZ93qSmnSGpqGvAtKX-yIpdsyiHo2aB_PbqNQRAqQCPO19Ww0s/s400/Jordanne+Whiley+US+Open+singles+trophy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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British No. 1 Jordanne, playing in her first women’s singles Grand Slam final, beat defending champion, her doubles partner, best friend and world No. 3 Yui Kamiji of Japan 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in a match of fluctuating fortunes.<br /><br />Jordanne saw an early break advantage disappear in the first set, only to regroup and take the last two games to seize the initiative. Kamiji raced through the second set, but Whiley returned from a comfort break before the final set with a renewed focus and stormed into a 5-0 lead.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XBaExC2vlfH-IfJDz4ugViMLDm1FQ6kmYgmtgeEENIobPMFoyXZW2nPHBBynOz1MKrG9IDU0LU6BYCH8cblCircFce_IsBF5tBTxn-oRg5Wt85cxHVPaLzNbUio9gHokq4stzwr92Bs/s1600/Jordanne+While+US+Open+action.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XBaExC2vlfH-IfJDz4ugViMLDm1FQ6kmYgmtgeEENIobPMFoyXZW2nPHBBynOz1MKrG9IDU0LU6BYCH8cblCircFce_IsBF5tBTxn-oRg5Wt85cxHVPaLzNbUio9gHokq4stzwr92Bs/s400/Jordanne+While+US+Open+action.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Jordy then had her first five match points before Kamiji pulled a game back, but another thrilling final game eventually saw the Brit clinch a famous victory on her ninth championship point.<br /><br />“It really hasn't sunk in that I've done it - I'm a singles Grand Slam champion! It was so strange playing Yui as she's my best friend and we've achieved so much in doubles together but it means I know her game so well,” said Jordanne, who will now go to a new career best singles world ranking on Monday after starting the US Open world ranked No.5.<br /><br />“I felt bad seeing her crying at the end but that's tennis and I knew I could win it. I kept telling everyone that I could do it in singles as well and now I've finally proved it! Everything is clicking nicely ahead of Rio and now I can't wait to play at the Singles Masters in December and I want to win that too in front of a home crowd. <br /><br />“I'm going to treat myself to some pizza tonight but then it's back home and I'll keep working hard and build on this success” she added.</div>
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Jordanne had a great week in the singles in New York, beating home favourite Kaitlyn Verfuerth in straight sets and then world No. 2 Aniek Van Koot in a tough three set semi final, to set up the final with Kamiji.</div>
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Courtesy of Tennis Foundation.</div>
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Follow Jordanne on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jordannejoyce92?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@JordanneJoyce92</a> and visit her website <a href="http://www.jordannewhiley.com/">www.jordannewhiley.com</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1080383277311419845.post-71260086423815990042015-08-29T11:20:00.000+01:002015-08-29T11:20:00.390+01:00Jack Whelbourne makes a difference<div style="text-align: justify;">
For Jack and his team mates it's a weekend to make a difference as they take part in the Nottingham Post, Good Deed Notts campaign.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack outside the Mary's Kitchen Café</td></tr>
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via The Nottingham Post <br /><br />Paintbrushes and overalls will replace ice skates and skin suits as the GB Short Track team step off the rink to give their local café a helping hand.<br /><br />The Nottingham-based team – who have been training at the National Ice Centre, in Bolero Square, since 2000 – will spend the next three days revamping Mary's Kitchen Café, in Southwell Road, which is a stone's throw from the arena.<br /><br />They will paint the café's eating area, put up a new sign at the front and install new lighting before the venue reopens on Tuesday.<br /><br />The fundraising drive will see organisations, businesses and individuals raise money for charity, volunteer in their communities and give their neighbours a helping hand.<br /><br />Team member Jack Whelbourne, who grew up in Lenton but now lives in Hucknall with European champion speed skater Elise Christie, is the makeover's project manager.<br /><br />The 24-year-old, who made the semi-finals in the short track events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, said: "I go in the café every other day for food between training. It's great to be able to interact with locals and businesses and show them we are supportive in the community."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack in action</td></tr>
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Fellow team member Jon Eley, who was born in Solihull but has lived in Nottingham for 14 years, says the café is a "team favourite". The 31-year-old, who represented Britain at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics, added: "We really like it there as it has a friendly atmosphere.<br /><br />"Everybody in the team has come up with one good deed that they are going to lead, and the rest of us will help them out with it."<br /><br />Mick Preedy, senior building manager of construction company Willmott Dixon, has provided the team with eight tins of paint, two electricians and the new sign. He said: "It's nice to put something back into the community."<br /><br />The café's co-owner Denise Clarke said she was "honoured and excited" about the project and was looking forward to seeing the transformation.<br /><br />The team aim to continue their community work by visiting ill children in the city's hospitals, encouraging people to keep fit by getting their skates on, putting their skills to the test and baking cakes and cleaning up community centres and parks.</div>
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You can follow Jack on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/speedyboi158?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">@speedyboi158</a> and find out more about him through his website <a href="http://www.jackwhelbourne158.com/">www.jackwhelbourne158.com</a></div>
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#Cafe #Nottingham #Post #GoodDeed #ShortTrack #TeamGB</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12640666688134329228noreply@blogger.com0