The last week has been amazing in our little region watching the Commonwealth Games play out in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. We really hope the new bull stays around for the long haul, what a beautiful piece of art she is! It’s made us properly proud Brummies, bostin’!
Taking home Gold
We came here though to discuss the final of the Women’s 100m T37/T38 final which took place earlier this week at Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr. Sophie Hahn, British Paralympian, was the strong favourite to win the race however, Welsh competitor, Olivia Breen, stomped home for the win and took the gold medal. It was a thrilling race and the crowd screamed her home.
Hearing Aids
What made us particularly thrilled here at Veritas Hearing was that Olivia was wearing her hearing aids with pride during the race. We have spoken recently about the misconceptions around hearing aids and the outdated opinions that sometimes follow them, so to see a young person wearing them with pride really made our hearts swell!
T38 Classification
Olivia has cerebral palsy and was given her T38 classification (a classification for people with cerebral palsy and includes people who have coordination impairments) in January 2012. This meant she was able to be brought into contention for the 2012 Paralympics in London. Breen was selected for the GB team and competed in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay.
Olivia’s achievements
She has won a huge amount of medals in various disciplines and here are just a few…
Paraylmpic Games: London 2012 – Bronze in Women’s 4 x 100m relay T35 – 38, Tokyo 2020 – Bronze in Long jump T38
IPC World Championships: Doha 2015 – Gold in Women’s 4 x 100m relay T35 – 38, London 2017 – Gold in Long jump T38
IPC European Championships: Grosseto 2016 – Gold in 100m T35 – 38, Swansea 2014 – Silver in 100m T35 – 38 & Bronze in 100m T38, Stadskanaal 2012 – Bronze in both 100m T38 & 200m T38
Commonwealth Games: Gold Cost 2018 – Gold in Long jump T38 & Bronze in 100m T38, Birmingham 2022 – Gold in 100m T38
At just 26, we have to expect a few more medals under her belt in the years to come!
A huge congratulations to every athlete who has competed in these games and thanks for coming to visit our Birmingham – “Games for Everyone”.
