PARA athlete Grace Greenwood hopes her selection for Team England Futures will open doors to a greater number of high-profile events in 2022 and beyond.
The Island teenager, who has been denied a competitive appearance at this summer’s Commonwealth Games, is set to be handed off-track support from a range of national governing bodies after receiving a surprise letter by post.
Greenwood, who has cerebral palsy, had hoped that her category – T35, for athletes with a moderate degree of impairment – would be included on the list of disability events for Birmingham 2022. However, track-and-field organisers have instead chosen women’s T33-34 [wheelchair] and T37-38, for athletes with low-degree impairment in the lower trunk and legs.
Nevertheless, her inclusion on the Futures programme does mean she will attend as a guest of Team England, in conjunction with Sport England and SportsAid.
‘I didn’t know they were selecting so when I got the letter it was a shock,’ Greenwood explained.
‘I wasn’t planning on going at all until the letter came through. It’s really nice … I was annoyed that I couldn’t go, because they haven’t picked T35, and I didn’t have a goal to aim for. But now, I definitely have more motivation to train.
‘They will be holding workshops on things like nutrition and sports psychology and we will meet some of the athletes who are competing there. And I will obviously be supporting the Jersey team as well.
‘It’s really nice to be acknowledged for the hard work I’m putting in. It’s paying off and I’m hoping this means I will be able to go to few more higher-level competitions.’
Greenwood, a Jersey Sport Foundation athlete, is set to appear at the Manchester Indoor Open this coming weekend, before travelling to Ireland for another outing over 60m on 26 March. Her personal best over 100m, of 17.9sec, has also earned the 17-year-old an invite to the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Nottwil, Switzerland, in May.
