Hannah is all revved up for pal
HANNAH COCKROFT will dedicate any success she has in Rio to the memory of her late university friend Tahlia Banks.
The Paralympics open on Wednesday, with wheelchair racer Cockroft – winner of two golds at the London 2012 Games – aiming for a hat-trick of titles over the next two weeks in the T34 100m, 400m and 800m.
And the ‘Halifax Hurricane’ has named her current racing chair “Tink” after her close pal Tahlia, who died in April last year. Cockroft’s final event, the 800m, falls on Friday, September 16 – the date on which Tahlia should have been celebrating her 22nd birthday.
Cockroft, 24, said: “Last year, I lost one of my best friends, Tahlia, so my chair is named after her and hopefully she can cross the line with me in Rio.
Difficult
“She had the nickname Tink as she fancied herself as a bit of a Tinker Bell, after the fairy in Peter Pan.
“The name feels right. Hopefully, by naming my chair after her, she can celebrate my successes and be there through the difficult times too.
“Tahlia had cystic fibrosis. She had a double lung transplant at Christmas 2014, but her body rejected the lungs. She was only 20 – it was a pretty grim time. She was such an inspiration to me. She did some fantastic things with her life.”
Cockroft, joint-captain of the athletics team, is one of the many returning stars from London 2012, along with amputee sprinter Jonnie Peacock, wheelchair racer David Weir, cyclist Dame Sarah Storey and swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
Cockroft, who has cerebral palsy and an unbeaten record at senior major championships, added: “London was amazing, but I was an unknown then, so it was easy for me. The last four years have been tough.”