Wheelchair sprinter Nick Smith spreading the word with virtual reality

Despite being born with a disability called Arthrogryposis, meaning he has multiple curved joints in areas of his body from birth, athlete Nick Smith has been determined not to allow his disability to negatively affect him.This the wheelchair racing athlete has managed to do successfully, to the tune of ranked No 1 in the United Kingdom in the T25 100m race, and No 2 in the land over 200m, 400m and 1,500 m.

However, such success would not have been possible had Smith not joined the Leeds City Athletic Club as a 12-year-old and become the first member of the Leeds City Wheelchair Racing Group as a consequence.

The group have been running since 2004 and pride themselves on catering for all levels of ability by ‘having enough chairs to cater for anyone who needs help assisting their development’.

These resources are designed to help any disabled sports men and women so they can become more active and improve both their physical and mental well-being.

Smith is not the only club member who has achieved such success. Paralympic, World and European champion Hannah Cockroft is a frequent visitor to the centre, as well as the World Championship bronze medallist Georgina Oliver.

Smith, though, has stuck to his roots and remains a member of Leeds City Athletic Club, , alongside Matthew Hickling,who is a unior World Championship medallist.

Yet, due to thecoronavirus outbreak, the group’s weekly training sessions have been halted, forcing the members to meet virtually and complete similar sessions to what they would be doing at the track.

Smith explained how every Thursday the club meet on Zoom and complete gym circuits set by their coach Paul Moseley.

Those who can utilise special equipment such as wheelchair training rollers, which Smith explains are similar to what cyclists use, have the freedom to do so, whilst other members will complete exercises such as bicep curls. The circuits are designed to include all members of the racing club, even if they do not all have the same equipment.

Alongside these weekly sessions, Smith himself has created online videos which are accessible on YouTube and show him demonstrating different resistance exercises for any wheelchair user to complete, including those who do not have a membership to a specific club.

Smith said: “It’s a great way to all train together, to stay in touch and keep motivated.”

With optimism high that the Leeds City Wheelchair Racers can return to the track soon, for now they continue to hold these virtual sessions every Thursday to continue motivating athletes such as British record holder Smith and other members to continue training.

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