Western News: August 09, 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

6 Tuesday August 9 2016 Our People WESTERN NEWS Track and field athlete to make Christchurch’s William Stedman, 16, will debut at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in September. He spoke to reporter Caitlin Miles about how he hasn’t let cerebral palsy stop him from competing and what inspired him to become a paralympic athlete Congratulations on getting a grant from Inspire Foundation. Thank you. Yeah, it’s really cool, it’ll help me out a lot to get things I need before heading to Rio. I’m really thankful that they gave me the money. They’re a great foundation. How much money did you receive? What will it go towards? I got $1000, so that will go towards paying for orthotics and shoes and that kind of stuff. The New Zealand Paralympics covers our entry costs and stuff, which is a big relief because it’s not cheap. The money I got from the foundation can be focused on getting me the things I need for it, not just pay to compete. Congratulations too on heading to Rio – are you excited? I fly out tomorrow so I’m pretty excited. I’ve been doing a lot of training and stuff so it’s still pretty surreal. The other people I’ve met in the paralympic team are really great so it’s going to be really cool. How long have you been training for? I kind of never stop training. It gets ramped up and more intense closer to the time, but I’m always training. When I went to the world champs in Doha, I didn’t know I was going until about two weeks before. I didn’t think I had got in so, when I found out I had, there was a bit more pressure to train harder. I had been training constantly anyway, but that uncertainty was annoying. It was such a big event and competition to be a part of so the idea of missing out was hard, so it was even better when I found out I had got in. How did you fund that? It must have been hard to get all the money and everything together in a short amount of time? Well my parents were really good about it. They helped me out big time with getting everything together in not much time. I guess it was such a big DRIVE: William spends more than 10 hours a week training for events and competitions, such as the paralympics. thing for me and a really great opportunity they didn’t want me to miss out either. Is this your first year going to the paralympics? Yeah, it is. It’s really exciting to be going over. What classifies you as a paralympian? I have cerebral palsy so the left side of my body is a bit slower and doesn’t react as quickly. I was classed as T28, which was bit too hard for me to compete in. I am now classed at T36 and that made a big change to how I can compete. It’s much easier for me and I compete better and a little easier, which gives me a good chance to compete professionally and go to worlds and stuff. Why did you decide to become an athlete? I have always been pretty active. I enjoy sport. It wasn’t until I saw the 2012 London Paralympics and I thought, ‘I can do that, why can’t I do that?’ So I decided to get serious about it and see what I can do. So you’ve been competing for four years? No, not at first. I wanted to get into running and see what it was like. I joined the Port Hills Athletics Club and I started long distance running with the club. It wasn’t until 2014 when I started training properly for competitions. What events do you compete in? I do the 400m, 800m running events and the long jump. Lamb Shanks free flow frozen $ 9 . 95 kg Streaky Bacon dry cured, 1kg pack $ 15 . 99 pack 394 Blenheim Road, Christchurch • Ph: 03 349 5078 • Hours: Mon - Fri 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, Sat 7:00 am to 5:00 pm www.westmeat.co.nz
TM WESTERN NEWS Tuesday August 9 2016 7 paralympic debut at Rio games JUMPER: William will compete in the long jump, as well as the 400m and 800m events, at Rio. What events do you compete in? I do the 400m, 800m running events and the long jump. How often do you train and what’s involved? I train roughly seven times a week. That’s about 10-11 hours. It might not sound like much but it’s pretty high intensity stuff. I do a lot of different exercises over the week. I’ll do short distance running, long distance, endurance stuff, running up and down stairs and hills, gym sessions and all of that kind of stuff. I usually get two days off a week. Sometimes I’ll train on Sundays, though. How does your body cope with that? Do your muscles struggle? No my muscles handle it pretty well, but my left side is just slower and I have less muscle control over it so it doesn’t move as well. I started off running long distances and then I switched to shorter distances. I think it’s because my body can handle shorter distances better. I’m more of a middle distance runner now. As I get older, I might go back to doing longer distances. How do you balance school and training? Is it your first year of exams? Yeah, I’m doing NCEA level 1 this year, so there is a bit going on. My school is really supportive of my sport so that’s a big help. They understand there is a lot going on so I balance it. I’ve got to stay really motivated to be able to do both. Do you ever worry about cerebral palsy stopping you from running and competing? I never really think about it to be honest. I make sure I look after myself. It’s important to me to compete and be a good athlete, but I also know to look after myself. I’m not too worried about having to stop. Not at this stage anyway. I have had a couple of injuries but nothing too serious. I had a bone stress injury in my foot when I competed, which was painful, but nothing that has made me think about stopping. Has anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t be an athlete because of cerebral palsy? No. I’m really lucky. I’ve had so much support from my parents and my friends and my school. My coach, George Edwards, is really great, too. I also think paralympics are getting more support and recognition, which is really cool. It’s not so hidden anymore. There is a lot more support for us athletes, which I think is a really great thing to see. Do you see yourself as a role model for other people with disabilities? I wouldn’t call myself a role model. Not at the moment anyway. I’d like to be a role model in the future, though. I think it’s just really cool that paralympics is becoming a bigger event and getting more people to celebrate us. It gets more coverage in the media, more people recognise us as athletes that have disabilities and support us. Not just here, but around the world, which is really cool. It’s a big step forward. LET’S GO SHOPPING Preloved & quality • Clothing /Footwear • Bricabrac • Furniture • Household items 1 Amyes Rd, Hornby Ph. 349 4163 Hours: Mon - Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat 9.30am-1.30pm 335b Riccarton Rd, Church Cnr Ph. 341 8539 Do you have prediabetes? Do you enjoy gold kiwifruit? We are looking for volunteers to complete a 13-week clinical study looking into the effects of gold kiwifruit on glycaemic control and gut health. To be eligible you must: CALL US TODAY (03) 364 1586 ✓ Have a diagnosis of ✓ Add two gold kiwifruit per day prediabetes (fruit provided) to their normal ✓ Be over 18 years old diet throughout the study ✓ Have no previous history ✓ Make four visits to the Don of gastrointestinal surgery Beaven Medical Research or known kiwifruit allergy Centre during the 13-week Renée Wilson study *other medical factors (each visit approx. 30 min, travel M: 021 615 851 may apply. costs reimbursed) wilre965@student.otago.ac.nz THINKING OF RENOVATING? ENJOY IT WITH US! From concept to completion, enjoy the experience of a full service renovation company. Whatever the scope of your extension or renovation, with your dreams and our experience we can realise your home’s potential. WE MAKE IT EASY WITH OUR THREE SIMPLE STEPS... With 5 offices in Christchurch, let’s start the conversation call 0800 764 846 or visit smith-sons.co.nz
Page 1 and 2: FREE TUESDAY AUgUST 9 2016 379 7100
Page 3 and 4: WESTERN NEWS Tuesday August 9 2016
Page 5: WESTERN NEWS Tuesday August 9 2016
Page 19 and 20: WESTERN NEWS Tuesday [EDITIoN Augus
Page 21 and 22: WESTERN NEWS Tuesday [EDITIoN Augus
Page 23 and 24: 2 WESTERN [Edition NEWS datE] Tuesd

Western News: August 09, 2016

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?