Skip to content.

The national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity

Menu. Open and close this menu with the ENTER key.

Young athlete chosen as Paralympic Flame Ambassador for Plymouth

A 14 year old athlete who has come through the Playground to Podium and Disability Sport Events programme has been chosen as the Paralympic Flame Ambassador for Plymouth. Doaa Shayea, a student at Sir John Hunt Community Sports College, was picked after winning five gold medals in the Nationwide Junior Athletics Championships. 

She will travel to Trafalgar Square in London with the Lord Mayor of Plymouth on August 24, and bring back a part of the Olympic flame.

Doaa has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. Two years ago she took up athletics and competed in the Championships in Warwick in July. She won five goal medals to add to her silver medal achieved in the London Mini Marathon.

She says she was inspired by watching the Olympics and seeing people pushing themselves to the limit.

"I believe I have the dedication to get to the 2016 Rio Games. I love athletics, but sometimes it's hard. There are days when your body just won't do as much as you want it to. It is a big honour to be chosen as the Flame Ambassador. It feels good to know I've been chosen for something so big. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would like to say thank you for choosing me."

Last year Doaa's school raised enough money to enable her to buy a £3,000 racing wheelchair.

She has since been measured for her own chair with help from a grant from the Cauldwell Foundation and the Armada Athletics Network.

Her coach, Ron Blank, said yesterday that she had the potential to make the 2016 Paralympics in Rio if she keeps going as she is doing.

"She has the commitment, but funding is going to be a big problem for her. Her school has been very supportive."

Her next event is the English Championships in Birmingham just before the Paralympics start. Doaa and Cllr Mike Wright, the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, will travel to London courtesy of First Great Western. They will then bring back part of the Paralympic Flame in a lantern, which will be the centrepiece of a Flame Celebration on Saturday, August 25 at the Life Centre.

Cllr Peter Smith, deputy leader of Plymouth City Council, picked Doaa to be the Flame Ambassador. He said he chose her as a way of inspiring other youngsters in the run-up to Rio.

Keith Reed, Armada Athletics Network co-ordinator, said:

"We are extremely proud of Doaa as she is a fantastic example of how sport can help someone overcome a disability."

Playground to Podium (P2P) is a series of targeted interventions aimed at helping young disabled people progress from PE and community sport to high-level performance and competition. The ultimate aim of this initiative is to produce our next Paralympians and elite disabled athletes, by focusing on the identification, development and support of young disabled people. However, it is essential that all young disabled people have the opportunity to take part in high-quality sports provision.

Since its launch, Playground to Podium has provided a means of identifying and supporting potentially talented young disabled athletes. It has also enabled the development of an infrastructure to support more young disabled people to engage, remain and excel within sport.

The English Federation of Disability Sport and England Athletics have worked together on delivering part of the programme, including the County Athlete Assessment Days (CAAD).

For more information, please contact Kat Southwell