Paralympic gold medalist inspires pupils
Thursday, 8 November 2012
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Budding sports stars were treated to expert advice on hitting their targets when Paralympic gold medalist Danielle Brown visited for a master class in her sport of Archery. The star, who won gold at the Paralympics in both London and Beijing, provided a motivational talk on her life experiences and what it takes to be a top athlete. Pupils were given exclusive insights into her training regimes, goal setting and preparation for competition. She also lifted the lid on how she worked her way through regional, national and international tournaments to become a gold medalist. "Everyone at Ellesmere was really welcoming, the school is not like any other school I have visited before. The pupils were so passionate about sport, asking questions, and they were all so keen to learn and understand the skill of archery. There was a real buzz about the place." said Danielle The 24 year old, who lives in Telford and trains at Lilleshall's National Sports Centre, suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy in the feet and competes sitting down or leaning on a stool. She burst onto the international scene in 2007, winning double gold at the World Championships aged just 17. She followed this by winning Paralympic Gold in Beijing 2008, a Gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games 'able-bodied' competition and a further Paralympic Gold in London 2012. Whilst competing internationally, Danielle also graduated in 2010 with a First Class degree in Law at University of Leicester, she is a true inspiration to our students. Danielle hosted an archery master class where she demonstrated her exceptional accuracy and skill, talking through all the key elements to shooting a successful score. She also surprised a number of pupils by joining in with their training sessions and providing one to one coaching with members of the sixth form and lower school pupils. Tom Rylands, Head of Ellesmere's Shooting Academy, said, "It's been a real inspiration having Danielle's insights into what is takes to be a Paralympic gold medalist and competing at such a high level. The whole ethos of the sports academies is to inspire and develop elite athletes. Danielle, with her two gold medals to hand, really did demonstrate this to our pupils "