Page 15 - CMTeen_Volume1_Issue3

GROWING UP, I NEVER THOUGHT but it’s worth it when I get to compete. I
SPORTS would be my thing. I was have pain that I’m sure you’re all familiar
diagnosed with CMT1A at 3 years old; with: shooting pains, achy muscles, nerve
I struggled through PE at school and I pain and sore joints. It doesn’t stop me,
basically wrote sports off from a fairly though. I always say I’d rather be in pain
young age. By the time I reached the age and have achieved something than just be
of 13, my CMT had worsened and I could in pain.
no longer manage the walk to school
without tripping. Without sports I think my CMT would be
much worse than it is. So I encourage you
My Dad and brother, both keen cyclists, to try lots of sports, find one that suits
suggested that I ride to school. I enjoyed you and let it help you get stronger.
it so much that I got a road bike and Try researching Paralympic sports and
pursued cycling as a hobby, never real- governing bodies in your area that may
izing where it could take me. Later that well be looking for the next Paralympians
year my dad contacted British Cycling and give it a go!
and got me booked onto a Talent ID day.
The day involved a two-hour track ses- Even if you find you don’t want to
sion, an interview and power testing to compete, the difference that sports will
find athletes with potential in the sport. make can be dramatic—maybe even
better than medication. Sports with CMT
Since then I have worked with Team is hard but you’ve got nothing to lose and
Great Britain and trained with it could make your symptoms better.
people who recently competed in I know cycling has helped me avoid
the Paralympics in Rio. It quickly surgery!
became my dream to become a
professional athlete. I am now training
five days a week and competing at the
international level. I hope to represent
my country in Tokyo in 2020. I also go
to the gym twice a week and with the help
of a coach I have started weight training,
something else I never thought I’d do.

Off my bike, my CMT still affects me
in many ways. A few years ago I was
prescribed leg braces to help me walk. I
am tired most of the time from training

*Millie, 17, competes on track and road. She goes
to school at Silverdale School and live in Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, England.

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