‘Hurricane’ Hannah breezes into London

It is with the exuberance of youth and a great deal of evidence to support it that Yorkshire teenager Hannah Cockroft calls herself ‘Hurricane Hannah’.

Teenagers invariably are confident, with the adult world beckoning them forward. But Cockroft, who has already turned a disability into her advantage, has more cause than most to be supremely confident.

For the 19-year-old is the finest wheelchair sprinter in Paralympic sport.

‘Hurricane Hannah’ – it is her self-anointed moniker on Twitter – breaks world records for fun; two having fallen already this year during her three-month training camp in Australia.

No-one is quicker than the current T34 womens’ 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m world record holder.

At the London Paralympics from August 29 to September 9, she can only race for gold medals in the 100m and 200m.

“There are so many disabilities,” she points out matter-of-factly, “that if every class had every event, the Games would never end.”

The Olympic summer does not end with the closing ceremony of the able-bodied Games on August 12.

Those competing for gold medals in the Paralympic Games would tell you what goes before is only a pre-cursor to the main event.

All sporting events need stars and Cockroft’s is set to shine brightly in the London sky.

She is a double world champion at 100m and 200m distance in the T34 category, for people who suffer from cerebral palsy.

Cockroft does not like to refer to her disability as a hindrance.

Arguably, it has been the making of her. She receives all the benefits enjoyed by every other athlete funded by UK Sport, and sponsorship from major companies; in her case BT.

And these past three months Down Under have left her buzzing.

“To lower two world records while still in winter training is an amazing starting point for the year. Preparations are definately looking good,” says Cockroft, who trains 20 hours a week, and when back home uses the facilities near her home in Halifax.

“After a spring training camp in Portugal my season then starts for real. I’ll be travelling around Britain competing, as well as in Switzerland, the USA and Germany, all before going back to Portugal for a month of intense training before the Games.

“On top of that, you still have to train everyday, stay on top of your well-being and chair maintainence and do all your media and sponsorship commitments.

“It’s going to be a full on year.”

Her decision to quit school last year to pursue athletics full-time would appear to be paying dividends, though winning two world titles while sitting her A-level exams in 2010 would suggest she was already on track.

Her success over the last two years has made her a gold-medal favourite. Managing those expectations is Cockroft’s greatest challenge in 2012.

She says: “Two world championship gold medals has put a considerable amount of pressure on me.

“London is going to be my first Paralympic games, as well as a home Games, and sometimes I think people forget that. I don’t want to go there and let people down so I’m giving the next six months all I have got to make sure that I repeat my success.

“Certain people, my family especially, have given up so much for me to be doing this and I feel that if I can win two gold medals then I’ll be giving something back to them and make all the hard work worthwhile. I’m glad that they’ll all be there to see me race.

“Becoming a world champion hasn’t changed me, I still train hard. I know there is someone out there in the world who is determined to come and take that title away from me.

“I’m still fairly new to all this so it’s quite daunting on the start line when you are faced with a new racer and you have no idea who they are or how fast they can go.

“But I have no excuses not to do well at the Games, I have an amazing coach behind me, a really supportive family and a fantastic support team.

“I’m fitter and faster than I have ever have been and I have the best equipment that I’ve ever had.

“For me, the only acceptable outcome in London is gold. I don’t expect anything less of myself.

“I know that just making the team when you’re still a junior is a massive achievement and that was always my goal, but now I’ve had a taste of glory it’s addictive, so I’m going to do everything in my power to taste it again at London 2012.”

* Hannah Cockroft is a BT Ambassador. BT is the official communications services partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Visit www.bt.com/london2012