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Local girl to represent GB in Deaflympics
24 June 2009
A Gloucestershire resident has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan this September.
Beth Sewell, 27, who lives and works in Stroud, contracted pneumococcal meningitis when she was 13 months old, and as a result she was left with no hearing in her left ear and has 92% hearing loss in her right ear.
Doctors at the time predicted that Beth would be unable to do anything for herself physically, but since then Beth has proved them wrong, by living an independent life and now qualifying as a hammer thrower for the Deaflympics.
Beth has competed in several Deaf Athletics Championships, the first was European Deaf Athletics Championship in Bulgaria in 2007, Beth was crowned gold medallist – beating the silver medallist by 5m. Last year she took part in the World championship in Turkey, where she finished in 5th place with a throw just 3cm off her personal best.
She has been training continuously to improve her distance by an impressive 13m. Her commitment to the sport is unquestionable – she left teaching P.E at as a substitute teacher for a teaching agency covering various schools in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire in 2007 to focus on her training. Beth trains almost everyday at the Gloucester athletics Blackbridge track with ex Commonwealth champion, Lorraine Shaw.
Hearing impairments do not come under the Paralympics disabilities categories and all deaf sports in the UK are not funded by the Government in anyway, and what little funding deaf sports received has been withdrawn and redirected towards the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Beth has had to raise the funds to pay for all of her international competitions herself. The Meningitis Trust has recognised Beth’s achievement and has helped her fundraising with a financial grant for the Deaflympics.
Beth says,
“I am so grateful for the support I have received from the Trust, not only with the financial grant but also the support I received whilst growing up.
“I would like to thank the Meningitis Trust, the Gloucestershire Association of Disability and the local rotary clubs in Gloucestershire who have helped towards my funding, it is a huge weight off my shoulders and I am able to concentrate on my training.
“I am so relieved that my determination and other people’s generosity will finally allow me to represent GB in the Deaflympics, I can’t wait!”
The Meningitis Trust understands the true impact meningitis can have, and offers financial support grants to help people who have a variety needs; from providing pieces of specialist equipment, to paying for therapies or travel costs for hospital visits. The Trust is the only meningitis charity in the UK to provide such grants. Financial support grants are accessible to anyone affected by meningitis, whenever they need them.
Tracy Lewendon, Financial Grants Officer at the Meningitis Trust says, “At the Trust we see first-hand the impact that the disease can have – it changes lives in an instant and we are here to help people rebuild their lives following the experience. Beth’s an amazing young lady who has achieved a lot and we are delighted to help her represent Great Britain in the Deaflympics. She’s an inspiration to others who have been affected by the disease and we wish her the best of luck for the competition”.
As many as 500,000 people living in the UK today have had either viral or bacterial meningitis. And up to 10 million adults in the UK – one adult in every four – knows of someone who has had the disease. The Meningitis Trust, a registered charity, helps and supports everyone struggling to cope with the impact of meningitis.
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