Team GB

Stephen “Swifty” Smith

How I started   I started at the age of nine and started boxing alongside my brothers who also boxed. I followed my elder brother’s example and began boxing. It was great fighting alongside family, as we were able to uplift each other and empathise with each other’s situations. Joe Gallagher trained myself and my …

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Fabio Zamparelli

How I Started I got into sports as a way to feel valued. I struggled at school and I was bullied. Due to my disability I was ridiculed a lot and as a result felt lonely, but sport gave me an opportunity to be myself and prove that I was capable of big things along …

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Laura Mitchell

How I Started I started at the age of five! My parents recall me constantly being jumpy and hyper! I began at a club after school having found an interest in the sport through any normal PE lesson. This was where I fell in love with the sport. I continued to train throughout school and …

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Rio Mitcham

How I Started I started because I won at the school sports day, and it happened around the time that Usain Bolt was extremely successful, this inspired me to want to pursue a career in athletics myself, and after a short conversation with parents they took me to Telford Athletics Club to get started! My …

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Georgia Carmichael

How I Started I started Kayaking at the age of 10 and at 13 I was selected for the GB team. I began at my local club on an open day and ended up staying with them. At 15 I attended my first world championships, but unfortunately the year after at the age of 16 …

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Jamell Anderson

How I Started I started playing basketball in my back garden, but I switched and began playing different sports until I started in year 8 when I picked up the sport again. After picking up Basketball again I played for the Nottingham Youth Basketball team until I attended a Team GB trial day with seven …

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Hannah Beharry

How I Started I had five brothers who made me play sport from the age of 3, I was naturally gifted at sports generally, and I competed in Hockey, Netball, and Football. However, there were no sports clubs that I could attend as they were only inclusive for men! I then visited a boxing gym …

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Megan Kealy

How I Started I started in a pre-school class before moving forward to a gymnastic club at the age of 4. At the age of 7 I began Tumbling after being spotted by one of the coaches who thought I would be better suited to the Tumbling discipline. My Greatest Achievement My greatest achievement is …

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Chris Gregory

How I Started I started Beach Volleyball in 2008 when Team GB began a nationwide search for new athletes in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games. A UK Sport talent identification program called ‘Sporting Giants’ began when I was 18 in my final year of school. I tried beach volleyball for the first time …

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Maddi Tarrant

How I Started At the age of 4 my mum took me to Gymnastics because I was very energetic and my brother was attending the same club for trampolining. From the ages of 6-10, I was training on the trampolines and in artistic gymnastics alongside my brother. At the age of 11, I took to …

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