North West Regional Disabilty Athletics Champ

North West Regional Disability Athletics Championships 2014

Saturday 26th April 2014 at Sport City Manchester.

Ashton athlete Chloe Knight (u20) went to the top of UK rankings in her category (F20) in the long Jump with a leap of 3.14 to put her just two centimetres ahead of her rival from Stevenage.

‘This was a good event for Chloe to get an early season performance in before representing G.B. in the Netherlands later in the Summer .’said her mother Hilary Knight.

Fellow athlete Alex Teasdale was also amongst the medals with two sprint medals to add to his collection .The Denton athlete has endured a tough time on the track, having had uncertainty about his classification since 2012.Medical experts have struggled to agree on exactly what his leg problem is .Alex trains four times a week at Sport City having begun his career at Samuel Laycock School and East Cheshire Harriers. ‘Athletics has helped me to be confident and get me a job .In the Summer I am going to America to work on a Summer camp for a few months coaching Athletics and Football. It should be a great experience.’

Three younger local youngsters who hope to follow in Chloe and Alex’s footsteps scooped four medals apiece. Montel Browne, Abu Yousaf and Lewis Perkins all began Athletics at Samuel Laycock School and now train together at Sport City. Lewis began with local development Officer Blake Ellis at the Richmond Street track. During the winter they moved indoors to escape the deluge, finding the newly opened tram route allowed them to get right to the back door of the top class Regional Athletics facility. Teaching Assistant Amanda Peel travelled on the tram with them to get used to the journey then there was no stopping them.

The event was open to schools and clubs from anywhere from Wales to Yorkshire and Cheshire up to the Scottish Border. Those who achieve qualifying standards are invited to represent the North West at the Nationals at Warwick University in July.

The trios medal haul was

Montel Browne Long Jump –Gold,High Jump –Silver,100m Silver, 800m Silver

Abu Yousaf – High Jump – Gold,Long Jump – Silver , 100m – Bronze , 800m Bronze

Lewis Perkins (u16) 100m – Gold , High Jump- Silver,Long Jump Bronze,800m – Bronze.