Olympic star cheers on ‘Capt Tobias’ after his amazing double marathon
OLYMPIC MEDALLIST Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill has championed a young boy from Sheffield with cerebral palsy as he completed the final leg of a mammoth marathon challenge for charity.
Nine-year-old Tobias Weller has raised over £146,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces School with two marathons inspired by NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Captain Tobias, as he is called by friends, is unable to walk or stand unaided but completed the marathon on Saturday having walked hundreds of metres every day using his walker.
Heptathlon champion Dame Jess, running beside him as he crossed the finish line cheered on by hundreds of supporters, said he was “an inspiration to all”.
“The whole community has
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill ran alongside Tobias Weller, who is unable to walk or stand unaided, as he finished his second marathon. She said: ‘He is an inspiration to us all.’
come out for him,” she said. “It’s raised the morale and mood of everyone and inspired so many people in so many different ways.”
Tobias said it felt “amazing” to have finished both marathons
and, when asked about beating Dame Jess to the finish line, he said: “I have a new catchphrase that describes that – it was a very great, super-duper joy. I’m so pleased that she came along.”
After his first challenge put his fundraising total past the £100,000 mark, Captain Sir Tom Moore sent Tobias his congratulations and he also received a message from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Tobias began his latest challenge – dubbed his “Tobiathlon” – on June 14 using a three-wheeled race runner supplied by the charity CP Teens and has walked hundreds of metres each day towards his goal.
The youngster, who also has autism, originally aimed to raise £500 when he began his fundraising efforts.
Tobias’s mother Ruth Garbutt said the challenges, which started as a way of keeping him active over recent months, have transformed her son.
“It’s meant the world to Tobias for Jess to be here,” she said. “To run against an Olympic champion is pretty awesome.”