by Cathy Wood
In July 2012, as Britain prepares for the eyes of the world to be focused on the London Olympic and Paralympic Games it will also be seven years since 52 people lost their lives in the 7/7 bombings, seven of which were on the Aldgate train. Martine Wright could so easily have been one of them. There is an irony about the fact that celebrating winning the event inadvertently caused her to become part of it. Her presence at the Games will stand out as a symbol of courage and hope, proving how sport empowers and heals even after the darkest moments.
Chapter Four
In Search of Gold
‘Success is a journey, not a destination.
The doing is often more important
than the outcome.’
Arthur Ashe, tennis player
It is vital to ongoing success that people with a disability who are good at sport find their way into the Paralympic system and have their potential nurtured. In many cases, whether an athlete is born with a disability or becomes disabled later in life, the process begins in the same time-honoured way – with sporting activity being prescribed for rehabilitation purposes. It could be a physiotherapist who recommends swimming to keep compromised joints supple, or riding to improve strength, balance, coordination and confidence. This is where many stories start.
But it’s a long, painstaking journey from the first few strokes in a pool or sessions on horseback to becoming a proficient competitor. As an athlete’s career progresses, disabled or not, they face questions over their commitment, attitude, professionalism and ability to deliver world-class performances under immense pressure. But athletes with a disability have the additional responsibility of managing their impairment on a daily basis. How much management is needed differs depending on the complexity and severity of the disability.
For some athletes the sheer physical and mental effort of surviving childbirth and the first few weeks of life is triumph enough no matter what they go on to do in the remainder of their lives. When Sophie Christiansen came into the world, rather earlier than planned on the afternoon of 14 November 1987, she was born premature, at just 32 weeks. In the month that followed she endured a heart attack, lung collapse and septicaemia. The doctors didn’t hold out much hope. They drew the screens round, told Caroline and Karl, Sophie’s parents, she would not last the day and asked if they would like her christened. They discussed funeral arrangements and how the process would unfold.
It was during one such discussion that Sophie must have decided they were missing the point. ‘She opened her eyes and looked at me,’ says Karl. ‘It was as if she were saying, “what are you fussed about?”’ And while there have been plenty of twists and turns since that November day, Sophie’s earliest communication turned out to be an accurate reflection of how she, and her parents, approach life.
Sophie was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP), the result of damage to the brain that usually occurs before, during or soon after birth. One of the tests she had to complete was to place different shaped bricks into the right shaped holes. To those watching it was obvious, much to Sophie’s frustration, that she could see which hole was right but her fingers could not react successfully to complete the task. This was one of the early tell-tale signs of Cerebral Palsy.
There are various causes for CP, which include infection in early pregnancy or a difficult or premature birth. Around one in every 400 children in the UK are born with Cerebral Palsy and approximately 1,800 babies a year are diagnosed with the condition. There is, to date, no known cure and while not progressive it is neurological, which means it affects movement, coordination and speech. There are a number of forms, from the mildest, spastic hemiplegia, which results in muscle stiffness on one side of the body and potential curvature of the spine, to spastic quadriplegia, the most severe form, where the child is unable to walk or support their neck and may have moderate or extensive learning difficulties. Sophie has a mild form of the most severe category. All four of her limbs are affected, hence the term quadriplegia.
By the time Caroline and Karl had been given the official diagnosis Sophie was approaching two years old and the Christiansens were getting on with life in the way their infant daughter needed. In reality, they didn’t know any different; few of their immediate friends had had a family at this point so they had nothing to compare Sophie’s progress with. ‘I am the oldest of three daughters,’ said Caroline. ‘None of my friends [or family] had babies at the time – I just don’t think we knew what normal parenthood was.’ As far as they could tell, developmentally at least, Sophie was only a couple of months behind other babies her age and that could easily have been put down to her premature birth.
As both Caroline and Karl were teachers, they felt well equipped to deal with any learning difficulties Sophie might have. They certainly didn’t see the situation as either a barrier or insurmountable problem for the future.
As often happens, for disabled or non-disabled children it is the suggestion, or intervention, of an individual or organisation that sets a child on a certain path. And that was what happened to Sophie. While undoubtedly helped by her parents’ approach, it was by no means the only factor in her later sporting success. For a start, the area of Berkshire she grew up in had a progressive approach to disability.
When Sophie was two and a half, Caroline fell pregnant with her second child, Alex. The local authority also recommended that from September 1990, when Sophie was just under three years old, that she attend the nursery unit at Whitelocke School (now called All Saints), an ordinary school in Wokingham. ‘I think they felt it would be good for me to have a reasonably normal end-of-pregnancy and for Sophie to have some stimulation,’ says Caroline.
Caroline expected Sophie to scream and cry and have to be prized from her arm when the first day of term came, but Sophie, who in those days had a little walker with wheels at the front to help her get around, went down the path, turned and shouted chirpily, ‘Bye, Mum!’ and headed off.
There was another significant benefit to attending Whitelocke – it had a special unit for those children who needed it. It meant Sophie had the best of both worlds and was gradually integrated into every aspect of school life. And then at the age of six the physiotherapists introduced Sophie to a new activity that would alter the course of the rest of her life: they took her riding.
Whether it was the area of the country Sophie was born in, a change in attitude towards disability or simply a growing awareness of the positive benefits sport offers all children, disabled or not, by the 1990s, the end result was greater opportunity in all. And Sophie Christiansen was by no means the only beneficiary.
Sophie was six when she learned to ride; Ellie Simmonds was younger still, just four, when she joined Boldmere Swimming Club in Sutton Coldfield, near her home in Walsall, where she gradually progressed from the steps to the pool. But it certainly wasn’t love at first splash, as she hated getting her face wet and liked backstroke even less.
Nonetheless Ellie was a good swimmer and as she got older, she wanted to swim in galas like her other, taller friends. Born with achondroplasia – or dwarfism – Ellie never saw herself as any different from anyone else. She certainly didn’t regard herself as small, which meant that if her friends were taking part in galas she wanted to participate, too.
One gala followed another and Ellie was getting well and truly beaten. It wasn’t until she raced against other disabled children that her parents realised how good she was. By the time Ellie was nine, like so many other distinguished Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have been inspired by watching elite athletes perform via their television screens, she knew what she wanted to do.
Watching the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games at home in Walsall, Ellie saw Welsh swimmer Nyree Lewis win the 100m Backstroke S6 event, in a new Paralympic Games record, and then win a second gold in the 4 x 50m Medley Relay, as well as two silver medals and one bronze. Ellie Simmonds thought she could do that, too.
Three years later, aged 12, her talent established, Ellie was in t
he Great Britain development squad. A year after that she went from total obscurity to becoming the very public face of British Paralympic sport in the space of a few weeks.
Ellie was supposed to go to Beijing 2008 for the experience, so that when the time came for her to compete in London in 2012, the occasion would not overwhelm her. Clearly no one told 13-year-old Ellie the plan or, if they did, she ignored them.
First, she won the 100m Freestyle S6, then followed it up with gold in the longer 400m Freestyle S6 in a new world record time. It made her Britain’s youngest-ever winner of an individual Paralympic Games gold medal. ‘I have dreamed of being a Paralympic medallist but didn’t think it would happen yet,’ she says. The second gold had a twist to the tale as in winning the 400m Freestyle she beat Nyree Lewis, the swimmer who had inspired her four years earlier.
Simmonds’ spectacular performances in the water, along with the tears of happiness that flowed from the victory podium, became some of the most enduring and endearing images of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. But it didn’t stop there. The teenager picked up the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award at the December television showpiece, earned some extra local popularity by switching on Walsall’s Christmas lights and then, to cap it all, was awarded an MBE for services to disabled sport in the 2009 New Year’s Honours List. It made her the youngest recipient since Order of the Empire awards were introduced in 1917. And then she went back to what she was doing before – studying at school; not that being in a classroom or, in fact, any other post-Beijing experience, would ever be quite the same again.
Such recognition would have been unthinkable in the early days of disability sport, when the main function was to encourage the disabled, particularly those with severed spinal cords, to reintegrate themselves into society and contribute in a meaningful way. But Ellie Simmonds proved the Paralympic Games had become an event with the capacity to catapult successful participants onto a national and international stage. And, in Britain at least, there are established structures in place to identify and nurture potential from a very young age.
The British Paralympic Association (BPA), the organisation that leads Paralympic sport in the UK and is also responsible for ParalympicsGB at the Games, operates a number of schemes to uncover future athletes including Talent Identification Days, where athletes with a disability can try a number of sports under one roof. If successful, they are invited back for further trials and possible inclusion in the Great Britain squad. Talent Identification opportunities now exist in all Paralympic sports in some capacity.
Some sports, including Cycling and Rowing, offer fully integrated training programmes, where athletes with a disability regularly train alongside their non-disabled counterparts, often in shared venues. So, for example, the GB Para-Cycling Team trains with the non-disabled team at Manchester Velodrome, just as adaptive rowers use the same Caversham facility as Olympic squad rowers. Other sports, notably Equestrian, have their own tried-and-tested ways of spotting riders with the capability to go the Paralympic distance. It is, perhaps, no coincidence then that Cycling, Equestrian and Rowing were Britain’s most successful sports at the Beijing Games 2008, with the British topping the medal table in each sport.
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Sophie Christiansen started riding at six at a specialist riding centre close to her school because the physiotherapists knew the positive benefits it has for those with disabilities. There is something in the way a horse walks which increases sensation in the human body and as a result, improves mobility, balance and coordination. It is known to help with all physical disabilities.
No one could have imagined how much Sophie would love the experience or how quickly she would take to riding horses. Before long she’d persuaded Caroline to take her for a second weekly lesson, which at less than five pounds a time proved very affordable. ‘It was all outdoors then,’ says Sophie, ‘so it was a big commitment for my mum. She would take me every Friday, whether it rained or snowed. That’s dedication!’
By the age of 13, the riding centre Sophie was having lessons at felt her potential exceeded their resources and suggested she move to more advanced stables. As Caroline and Karl set about researching possible options they discovered they were within relatively easy reach of the South Buckinghamshire Riding for the Disabled Association (SBRDA). It was a huge stroke of luck. SBRDA is, unquestionably, one of the best riding associations for the disabled in Britain, if not the world.
Founded in the 1960s, the charity RDA has consistently and successfully delivered therapeutic enjoyment to thousands of disabled people of all ages for over four decades. It currently has more than 18,000 volunteers throughout the UK and, annually, encourages and introduces around 28,000 disabled people to the joys of riding. The RDA system is also one of the main ways in which talented British riders come to the attention of the sport’s governing body. Other routes include year-round competitions and talent spotting days.
Associations like the RDA were inspired by Danish rider Lis Hartel, who was paralysed below the knees by polio when she was 23. Hartel was already a successful dressage rider when the disease struck, after which she was advised to give up riding. But she was determined to ride again and at the highest level. Competing for Denmark, she won two Olympic silver medals in Dressage, first at the Helsinki Games in 1952 and then four years later at the Stockholm Games in 1956, an extraordinary achievement for a rider with a disability. At Helsinki 1952 she was lifted from her horse by the legendary Swedish rider, Henri Saint Cyr, who, having won the competition, gallantly carried her to the podium for the victory ceremony. It was memorable not just because of his gesture but because Lis Hartel became the first woman in history to win an Olympic medal in Equestrian and share the Olympic podium with men.
Hartel had proved conclusively the therapeutic benefits of riding and her example inspired the creation of riding centres for the disabled in other parts of the world, including the UK. Over the years, the SBRDA has risen to the forefront of Paralympic training, with superb facilities, including an indoor school, and now has a long and hugely successful association with the Paralympic Games through the many riders it has helped reach elite level.
The Christiansens may not have realised it at the time but joining the SBRDA would be a turning point in Sophie’s transition from keen rider to full international sportswoman. Apart from the facilities, enthusiasm, commitment and skill, the SBRDA was peerless in progressing riders with the most severe disabilities and they had the track record to prove it.
At the Paralympic Games, each competitor’s mobility, strength and coordination are assessed in order to establish their classification. Riders with similar functional ability are grouped into competition Grades. These range from Grade 1 for the most severely impaired, to Grade IV for the least impaired; Grade 1 is further divided into Grades 1a and 1b. The competition within each Grade can therefore be judged on the skill of the individual competitor on their horse, regardless of the competitor’s disability.
Christiansen’s classification is at the very highest level of impairment, 1a, while Lee Pearson, Britain’s best known and most successful Paralympic rider with nine gold medals, is 1b. ‘In the world of Para-Equestrian we are rather good at helping those with the highest disability levels,’ Caroline Christiansen says. ‘Her [Sophie’s] disability was her ability.’
Within a year of beginning to ride at SBRDA, Sophie Christiansen was put on the World Class Start Development programme run by UK Sport, which provides funding to help cover training and living costs. She was on disability’s fast track for elite sport.
In 2003, then 15, Sophie was asked to represent Great Britain in Madrid, Spain in a low-key Dressage international. Britain took two teams to the event, a First and Second team, with Sophie selected for the First team. They won, and Sophie had her first international medal. She also finished runner-up in the Individual competition.
It was all valuable experience and the only time in her career she used what was calle
d a ‘borrowed horse’. The term ‘borrowed’ meant riders drew lots for their horse from a common pool; the same process also existed at the Paralympic Games and the host nation was tasked with providing horses for all competitors. There would be a pool of horses and the Chef d’Equipe (Equestrian Team Manager) would draw lots for their team members. It was a similar system to the one used for Modern Pentathlon in the Olympic Games, where riders drew lots for the horse they then rode in competition. As the selection process is random, no one knows which mount they will get and this creates a level playing field for all. ‘Sophie drew Dote, an Andalucian stallion,’ recalls Caroline Christiansen. ‘I was terrified, but he was absolutely lovely to her.’
By now the Athens 2004 Games was on the horizon but first Christiansen had to find a horse of her own to compete on as the system for accessing horses was changing. From Athens 2004 onwards, Paralympic Equestrian would become an event where competitors took part on horses they supplied themselves rather than ones ‘borrowed’ at random from the Organising Committee of the day.
This change might have been a challenge, not just for Britain, but for teams around the world without the necessary resources to be able to raise the tens of thousands of pounds needed to buy an elite horse. Luckily, over the years, the British team has been aided by generous individuals who have provided a string of horses for riders to use. It was as a result of one of these benefactors that Sophie found a horse for Athens 2004. Britain’s riding elite is a small, well-connected group and it became apparent that Nicola Tustain (another highly successful British Paralympic rider and double gold medallist from Sydney 2000) had a possible solution – Hot Stuff, who was both good enough and available. So, Sophie headed to Wales for a week to give the horse a try and a fledgling partnership was formed.