With the Paris Olympics ending and the long lasting legacy of the games walking in its shadow, its now time for the Paralympics to take centre stage and inspire us all. The games is not only a global stage for athletes with disabilities, but an opportunity for stories of inspiration and determination to be written. A total of 213 athletes across 19 different disciplines are expected to represent Paralympics GB in Paris throughout the games, with seven from Essex making an appearance.
Ellie Challis, born in Clacton-on-Sea, is the first of the Essex para-athletes competing in the games. The S3/SB2/SM3 swimmer returned from Tokyo 2020 with a Silver medal in the S3 50m backstroke competition, whilst also being the youngest member of the GB squad. At the age of just 19, Ellie has already broken a number of world records in the S3 category, being a true inspiration for the younger generation of disability athletes. Ellie lost all four of her limbs to meningitis at a young age and her journey to becoming a world-class swimmer is simply remarkable. Could Paris 2024 be the stage for Ellie to staple her name as one of the greatest para swimmers of her generation?
Ed Clifton from Chelmsford is our next para-athlete from Essex. Unlike Ellie, Ed is relatively new to his profession, having only started paracanoeing in 2021 after switching sports in 2021. Ed was formerly a track and field athlete, competing across the various throwing events in the F56 class and represented Britain in 2019. In his short time as a para-athlete in the paracanoe team, Ed has become a real medal hopeful for Paris 2024, with Paris 2024 bronze medallist Kimberley Woods praising his name.
South African born Jaco Van Gass came to Britain at the age of 20 to purse his ambition of joining the British Armed Forces. During his time in the Parachute Regiment, Jaco spent a number of years living in Colchester before being injured in a blast that saw him lose the use of his left arm at the elbow. 11 intense operations later, Jaco is a successful para cyclist, achieving two golds and a bronze at Tokyo 2020. Competing in four disciplines in Paris, Jaco will be hoping to add to his already impressive Paralympic tally.
Zoe Newson is competing in the fourth consecutive Olympic games of her career. The powerlifter from Colchester already has two Olympic bronze medals in powerlifting and will be hoping to add to her tally this summer. Zoe trains at the Colchester based ‘Suffolk Spartans’ and specialises in the Under 45kg category. As a person living with dwarfism, Zoe has no shame and is the perfect example of a can do attitude not letting anything get in her way.
Another successful Paralympian will be heading to the Paris games on behalf of Essex as Jonathon Broom-Edwards MBE from Colchester who looks to continue his successful Paralympic career with another podium. The experienced category T64 high jumper already has a number of medals, with a gold at Tokyo and a silver at Rio to name a few.
Didi Okoh from Chelmsford will be competing in the T63 100m Women’s event. Didi, who studies law at the University of Birmingham, first became aware of her disability at an athletics event in Chelmsford as she was always a keen runner from an early age.
Laura Sugar from Saffron Walden will be heading to the third Paralympic Games of her career, becoming Paralympic champion in the KL3 Para Canoe at the Tokyo 2021 games, she’ll be hoping to add to her medal tally this year. Her dominance has been prevalent in the last few years, claiming a whole host of World and European Championship medals. Laura is also a talented hockey player, which is where she was first introduced to para-sport and still coaches hockey in her spare time as well as being P.E teacher.
All of these para-athletes are sure to inspire us throughout the games. Their journeys to the Olympics all differ but there is one thing that brings them together, the strength, passion and determination to overcome the barriers they’ve faced on the way to becoming the high-level, successful athletes they are today. Make sure to keep an eye on your TV screens to see how those from Essex get on.
