2001: Spectacular success for Academy at National Special Olympic Games
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Twins Luke and Kristain Hampton won a unique 1st and 2nd "All Round Champion" titles. Picture with mother (Andrea) and coach Iain Chalmers
24 children and young adults from the Cheshire Academy have achieved spectacular national success at the 6th UK Special Olympic games held in Cardiff.

These week long games which were the culmination of 4 years of hard and dedicated training attracted over 2000 of the best special needs athletes in the UK, competing at 17 different sports. Teams however not solely restricted to the UK as competitors from countries as diverse as Hungary, Switzerland, Austria and Georgia were specially invited.

Competing against the cream of the UK disability athletes the Academy returned with more medals and "All Round" national titles than any other single club in the UK. What's more, we won gold medals in every single one of the 5 individual sports of Athletics, Cycling, Artistic gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics and wheelchair rhythmic gymnastics entered by the Academy.

Academy Co-director Jane Whetnall was thrilled at the remarkable achievements of the Academy.

"Members of the Cheshire Academy won 31 gold, 29 silver and 18 bronze medals and gained a remarkable 8 "All Round "national special Olympic titles. What was more remarkable was the fact that this was accomplished by what has been recognised as one of the youngest and diverse teams ever entered in these games. The thousands of hours and coaching over the last 4 years have allowed our athletes to achieve some astounding results"

Gold Medal Cyclist Ian Poole
Our Cyclists

In the field of disability cycling Ian Poole (age 11) was the youngest cyclist at these games and due to lack of competition was forced to compete in the 16 years and over age group. Ian fought a hard race and did not let his lack of years get the better of him. He collected a gold medal for his 1 kilometre time trial and his huge efforts and success spurred other members of the Academy onto greater success.

Our Athletes

Academy athletes Neil Jones and Tony Harris are members of the Academy athletics club. Neil Jones (aged 22) won silver at the 200 meters sprint and later collected a bronze medal in the shot putt in what was a very tightly fought contest. Tony Harris (age 51) collected a well deserved gold for his tremendous 100 metre sprint.

Artistic Gymnastics

I n the beginners Level A competition David Beech (age 11), David Flaherty (age 8) and Matthew Roycroft (age 15) all won medals. David Beech collected 1 gold and 2 silvers with fellow gymnast David Flaherty collecting 1 gold and 2 Bronze medals. Matthew Roycroft collected gold for his floor set.
Tony Harris wins gold for his 100 metrers

In the under 12 years Level 1 competition identical twins, Kristian and Luke Hampton (age 8) powered their way to a unique 1st and 2nd place in a very tightly fought and competitive group. Competing against 18 of the best young gymnasts in the UK Kristian pipped his twin brother to the post and collected the title of "All Round National Champion" in the under 12 age group.

This is believed to be the first time that twins have accomplished 1st and 2nd at national Olympic competition. Fellow gymnasts James Langley and Ashley Timmis also competing in the under 12 age group collected their own medals with Ashley receiving gold for his parallel bar routine and a silver for his vault, with James receiving gold for his vault, silver for his pommels and bronze for his floor. The combined scores gave him 7th place in he All Round championship.

I
Our Artistic Gymnastics Team
n the under 21 age group 18 year old Jonathan Potter was on blistering form confounding even his coaches expectations. His score of 8.125 on thepommels was almost a point and a half above the nearest rival and his tally of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal ensured that the stood atop the medal rostrum and was crowned the undisputed All Round Champion in the 16-21 age group

In the female Level 1 competition, 9 year old Anna Shepherd collected 2 bronze medals and a silver which allowed her to slip into 4th place overall. When you realise that she was competing against gymnasts nearly 3 years older then her and that this is her first national competition then she is a great prospect for the future.

At
All the athletes and coaches before the send off to the games
the more advances Level 2 competition Mark Hughes and Kevin Schofield were expecting stiff competition from much more experienced (and older) gymnasts who had been competing for many years at this level. Both gymnast however blasted their way through the rankings to turn out some remarkable performances that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The battle of strength and tenacity won when Mark Hughes (who is only 10 years old) collected the coveted "All Round" Champion title . In the under 21 age group Kevin Schofield collected a gold, 2 silvers and a bronze and earned the bronze in the "All Round" title race.

Gymnast and Gold medalist on the floor, Claire Poole
Competing at the Advanced Female Level 2 routines for the very first time, 13 year old Claire Poole was keen to win a special Olympics medal like her cyclist brother Ian. Her hard work and hopes were realised when she collected gold for her floor exercise, an exercise which was perhaps the best she had ever performed in her life.

Rhythmic Gymnasts

Not to be outdone by the Artistic Gymnasts, the rhythmic gymnasts from the Academy set a standard by which the rest of the UK had to follow

Wheelchair rhythmic gymnast Michael Taylor (age 13) performed a very clean and competent rhythmic routine to win 3 gold and 2 silver medals and the much sought after All Round Champion title.

Also competing were wheelchair rhythmic specialists Christine and Carol Hough. Christine collected 4 golds and a silver to pick up a further "All Round" title for the academy and her sister collected the runners up medal.

At the Level 1 rhythmic competition in the under 12 years age group Lauren Beardsall and Bethany Collina won 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals between them. Lauren won the "All Round" Championship title with Bethany collecting the runners up place.

Team captain Celia Flegg age 24 showed her class with a wonderful step and hoop routine winning gold in both. Her hard work and her concentration ensured that she collected a 3rd place overall. Considering that she was in one of the largest groups in the competition this 3rd place was a remarkable achievement.

At the advanced level 2 gymnasts Rebecca Foxley (aged 10) competed at the advanced level 2 competition. Against the odds rebecca gymnasts won an "All Round Title", in the under 12 age group. One other female gymnast from the also Academy won an all round rhythmic gold.

Academy Co. director Iain Chalmers was able to breath a sigh of relief at the conclusion of these games:

"It is clear that the medal successes and All Round National titles gained by the Cheshire Academy at these National Special Olympic games must rank as one of the most remarkable achievements of any single club in the whole of the UK. To achieve this success without any sort of local funding is a tribute to the dedication and efforts of the parents and coaches from the Academy who have pulled out all the stops to raise the £18,000 to send this remarkable team to the games"