Sprinter Libby Clegg will be out to a prove a point in the London Paralympics – blind people can run fast, writes Neil Bracegirdle.
As one of the only blind runners in the UK with any kind of funding, Libby knows that better than most.
Born in Bollington, Cheshire, with a condition known as Stargardt’s disease, Libby, 19, who now lives and trains in Loughborough, has only slight peripheral vision in her left eye and is otherwise blind.
The disease has certainly not held her back and after collecting a silver medal in the 100m and sixth place in the 200m at the Beijing Paralympics, she will be going out to improve on that performance in London 2012.
"I didn’t achieve the ultimate goal at Beijing so I’d like to get two gold medals in London," she said.
Her Beijing silver medal came in the T12 classification.
" It was really amazing, quite a surreal feeling," she says of her silver medal experience. "For a good few minutes I didn’t realise, because it was such a close race."
In winning the medal Libby recorded a personal best of 12.76 seconds and the magnitude of this achievement is put into some kind of perspective as she reveals the parameters surrounding her sprinting category.
" T12 has quite a wide range," she said. "It’s for runners with less than two metres vision, but I’ve got probably about half a metre of vision to be honest. People don’t realise how big a difference it is, but an extra 10cm of vision can be crucial."
Libby’s aim is to show blind people in a positive light and showcase what can be achieved.
" I want people to have a good opinion of blind people," she says.
" That they don’t need to sit at home and not do anything, or wait for someone to take them there, they can do things by themselves. I think by me running it shows the perception of blind people isn’t always right. That makes me want to prove to everybody and myself that I can run fast."
