ISLAND athlete Grace Greenwood is using six-time Paralympic medallist Kadeena Cox as inspiration as she splits her focus two ways.
The 18-year-old has made numerous appearances on the international track-and-field circuit as a 100m sprinter but two-wheeled competitions could soon be added to the schedule, following her selection by British Cycling.
Greenwood (pictured below) has been added to the governing body’s para development programme for 2023, having been successful at a talent-ID weekend at the Manchester National Cycling Centre.
‘We did power testing on the first day and then on the second day we did basic tests on how to stop, start and go round corners,’ she explained. ‘I hadn’t ridden a bike since before Covid so I practised before.
‘I got onto the development squad, which is below the academy, so now I need to learn how to properly use the bike, get confident and they’ll review it in a year. If I hit the goals they set me, hopefully I’ll get on the academy squad.
‘I’m hoping to be classified too and I will need to do some bike tests to get a licence to go onto a velodrome.’
The multi-talented teenager, who also won the Jersey Wado Ryu Karate Club’s student of the year award for 2022, says having a dual-sport role model helps form clearer goals.
‘It’s nice to know I don’t have to give up athletics to be good at cycling,’ Greenwood said. ‘Kadeena does both and she’s very good at both, so it is possible. It’s nice to see someone who’s amazing at both sports and it’s nice to know she’s there if I ever need support. She was at a competition in Birmingham last year and we had a meal – it was amazing that she was willing to talk and give advice to people at a lower level.’
Cox competed for Great Britain in both athletics and cycling at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games, winning medals in both.
