Swimmer gets cash boost ahead of place at Deaflympics
A DEAF Sileby swimmer, who has worked hard to compete despite her disability, has received charity funding as she prepares to represent Great Britain at an international event.
Lucy Sharp, 16, is set to take part in the Deaflympics - an International Olympic Committee-sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level - taking place in Turkey this July.
Lucy is one of the latest recipients of the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust’s Inspire Awards which see small grants given to young people to help them fulfil their ambitions in sports, music, community enterprise and business.
Lucy – who swims with Loughborough Town Swimming Club – told of how the £350 Inspire Award will help her.
She said: “We have to raise our own funds to go as the deaf swimming team receives minimal funding. Each team member’s cost is around £2,500.
“I’m working really hard to train for this event and am thrilled to have been given this amazing opportunity.
“The £350 Inspire Award will be a massive help as it will ease some of the financial burden and will enable me to concentrate on training.”
Lucy developed tinnitus around the time of her 13th birthday, and within a matter of months had lost her hearing completely.
At the time she was an ‘average level’ swimmer at her club and on becoming deaf, she lost her confidence and experienced balance and co-ordination problems.
Undeterred, Lucy has striven to over- come her disability and has worked with her coaches - including ex-Olympic swimmer Roberto Pavoni - to develop forms of communication to enable her to continue swimming in a mainstream setting.
Lucy is at a distinct disadvantage against other swimmers at the start of ‘able-bodied’ races as she has to look across to the starter for a hand signal or infrared light to start the race.
This costs valuable time at the start, particularly in sprint racing, but in spite of this, Lucy broke the 50m freestyle club record for her age group last year and also currently holds national deaf age group records in 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly.
She has also competed in the Great Britain Deaf Swimming Club national age group competition and came away with several gold medals.
Simon Taylor, Inspire Awards’ lead for the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, the charity set up in memory of Rothley teenager Joe Humphries, who collapsed and died while out jogging, commented: “Lucy’s personal journey is an example to us all.”
To find out more visit: www.jhmt.org