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Maddie's on target to be a UK paralympian
A CHANCE meeting at Bakewell Show three years ago has set a Hope Valley teenager on the road to the London 2012 Paralympics.
Fourteen-year-old Madeleine Thompson, who is a right leg amputee from birth, struck up a conversation Great Britain wheelchair basketball player Calum Gordon – and went on to accept an invitation to watch the players train in Sheffield.
The talented Lady Manners School pupil fell in love with the sport and never looked back – flying through the ranks at club, county and now national level.
Next week she will become the youngest ever member of GB's senior wheelchair basketball team, after being chosen to represent the women's team at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. She will also be the youngest competitor at the prestigious tournament.
"She was the youngest ever GB player at age 13 to go to the Junior World Championships, and now she is the youngest ever player to represent her country at the Paralympic World Cup," said dad Gary, speaking from their home in Hope.
"I think everyone involved with her is immensely proud and surprised that somebody so young has such maturity beyond her years. She is a remarkable young girl."
Maddie is already a seasoned competitor at both club and county level, and recently skippered her Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball Club Juniors side to a National League and Cup double. This weekend she will be playing for the Manchester Mavericks in the Women's League end-of-season play-offs.
In 2008, at the age of just 13, Maddie became the youngest wheelchair basketball player to represent her country at under-22 level. She played for GB in the European championships in Turkey in July, and the team qualified in seventh place for next year's World Finals in Birmingham.
But it is her selection to play for the 12-woman GB senior team at the Paralympic World Cup that has thrust her into the spotlight, with many now tipping her as a favourite to make the London 2012 Paralympics.
"At the moment she lives and breathes basketball. She usually plays five or six times a week, and during this season alone she will have played 109 games. I would say there is nobody who has played that many games," said Gary.
On selection for the GB senior team, he added: "Maddie says it's the most exciting, greatest thing that has ever happened to her. Her ultimate ambition is to go to a number of Paralympics.
"She also seems to have a natural ability for teaching youngsters; certainly at Sheffield Steelers she plays at under-15 level and is always helping her younger team-mates. They really seem to listen to her and take things on board."
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Weather for Buxton
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 0 C
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