The Leeds region is famous for its talented people. Some of them are successful athletes. In this article, we will tell you about Hannah Cockcroft, a British wheelchair racer specialising in sprint distances. The famous athlete set several world records at various distances and won many gold medals. Learn more about her at leedska.
What do we know about the athlete?
Hannah was born in Halifax, near Leeds, in 1992. Soon after her birth, the girl faced the first obstacle in her life, two cardiac arrests. It led to irreversible damage to the brain. As a result, Hannah developed foot and leg deformities and problems with mobility and fine motor skills. The girl can walk short distances, but she uses a wheelchair to cover longer distances.
Despite health problems, young Hannah took up swimming, discus throwing and basketball. Then she won a silver medal at the UK School Games. After that success, the girl attended the talent day of the British Paralympic Association at Loughborough University. In 2007, Cockroft tried an elite racing wheelchair by Dr Ian Thompson for the first time. Then Thompson trained Hannah in the first year of her sports career.
Career development
In 2008, the dance academy Hannah attended gave her funds to buy her own sports wheelchair. It was money from the programme sales at their annual show. However, when the chair was delivered, it was incorrectly adjusted, so her father set it to Hannah’s individual needs.
The athlete returned to the UK School Games and won gold in the competitive 100-metre race. After a successful performance, she was invited to the Great Britain Paralympic team.
Hannah participated in her first road race in 2009. It was the London Mini Marathon where the athlete became champion in the 14-19 age category.
2010 turned out to be productive for Cockroft too. She took part in the London Mini Marathon again. She also broke the world record in the 400-metre race at the Knowsley athletics competition for the disabled. Subsequently, Hannah broke seven more world records. As a result, she won the 2010 British Paralympic Performance Award.
The very next year, she made her debut in the senior Great Britain team at the Athletics World Championships and won gold in the 100 and 200-metre races. In 2011, Hannah debuted at the World Junior Championships and won gold in the 200 and 400-metre races. Her performances earned her an honorary lifetime membership of Leeds City Athletics Club.
In 2012, she broke a world record at the London Olympic Stadium. Then Cockroft broke the record again at the Swiss National Championships. Then there was the first Paralympic final in her career, where she won another gold medal for Great Britain. The athlete achieved lots of victories and gold medals. Therefore, Royal Mail issued two postage stamps in 2012 featuring Hannah Cockroft to honour her achievements and successful sports career. In addition, Hannah was awarded the Freedom of Calderdale and named an MBE in 2013.
Further achievements
Hannah Cockroft continued to please her fans with victories. In 2013, the athlete set a new world record at the 1500-metre race at the International Games in Bedford. Next, there was the victory at the IPC European Championships. That year, she won the title of the best athlete of the year in British athletics for the fourth time. In addition, she was named the best athlete of the year by the Athletics Weekly magazine.
Cockroft’s first loss came in 2015 when she finished second to Kare Adenegan in the 400-metre race at the Newham open meet. However, that failure didn’t stop Hannah and only gave her more motivation. After that, Hannah Cockroft gained even more victories, including three gold medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, first place in the 100-metre race at the Olympic Stadium and the title of world champion in the 800 and 400-metre races. It made her a 10-time world champion and the most decorated British athlete in the history of the World Championships.
However, Cockroft’s life is not only about sports. In 2013, she started to study Journalism and Media at Coventry University. A year later, Hannah launched 17 Sports Management Limited. The athlete also appeared in various TV projects in 2019.
This is the success story of the famous athlete Hannah Cockroft. We hope that our article was informative and you learned more about this famous person.