Paralympians Kylie Grimes and Polly Maton spend time with youngsters at Mossbourne Riverside Academy
Paralympians Kylie Grimes and Polly Maton on a visit to the Mossbourne Riverside Academy - Credit: Archant
Schoolchildren were thrilled to meet two Paralympians who might be competing for sporting glory just yards away from their school.
Paralympians Kylie Grimes and Polly Maton on a visit to the Mossbourne Riverside Academy - Credit: Archant
Children aged four to six from Mossbourne Riverside Academy had a special assembly with Kylie Grimes and Polly Maton on Thursday.
The pair both competed in Rio and hope to qualify for July’s World Para Athletics Championships.
Kylie, 29, competed at London 2012 as the only woman on the Team GB wheelchair rugby team, whilst 17-year-old Polly said that watching her heroes on the track sparked her own Paralympic journey.
She said “It’s really, really weird and amazing” to think she might soon be competing in the stadium where she watched London 2012: “It’s not definite but I was so inspired by 2012 so to compete here would be a dream.”
Paralympians Kylie Grimes and Polly Maton on a visit to the Mossbourne Riverside Academy - Credit: Archant
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The teenager and triple World Youth Champion said: “It’s lovely to see the children and I hope they are in inspired by being near the stadium and get a bit of the buzz.”
Polly, from Wiltshire, was born without part of her right arm, and showed the children the prosthetic limb that helps her launch off of the starting blocks in her events.
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Kylie told the youngsters that being a good athlete was all about resilience: “It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of hard work. You don’t always win the first time but you have to keep going.”
The pupils also learned about a Blue Peter competition to design two mascots – one each for the forthcoming World Para Athletics Championships and the IAAF World Championships London 2017.
Youngsters aged 6-15 have until Friday February 10 to submit their designs, and could win four tickets to the Championships as well as a VIP tour of the London Stadium.
To find out more visit: london2017athletics.com/mascots
