Inspirational visit from Paralympian Louise Hunt

We started off this week with an inspirational visit from Paralympian and wheelchair tennis player, Louise Hunt.

Louise, born with a disability called Spina Bifida, has been in a wheelchair her whole life, but that didn’t stop her from taking part in various activities. At the age of 5, Louise started doing sports, including swimming, basketball and fencing. She then discovered she had keen interest in wheelchair tennis and wheelchair racing.

Louise won 7 out of 10 London Mini Wheelchair Marathons which is an unofficial world record. Alongside this, she was also playing tennis and soon realised this was her real passion.

Beside her sporting career, Louise also works as an athlete mentor, commentator and motivational speaker, sharing her stories and experiences with many different people, and encouraging others to fulfill their potentials and follow their dreams.

During her visit to Treloar, Louise met with a group of students to talk about her life, interests and achievements. She provided insights into her successes and challenges she faces every day. She shared with us stories about how sport has helped her in her life and career.

The Paralympian happily answered a number of questions from our students at the end of her visit. There were a lot of questions about motivation and overcoming challenges of being a wheelchair user. Our students wanted to know more about what the life of a Paralympian looks like, including things like: a typical day of an athlete, what motivated Louise to train so intensively and how often she had to train.

Thanks to the inquisitiveness of our students, we found out that it was Louise’s family who inspired her to get into sports. They encouraged her to try different sports and always said that there is an alternative way to doing things which kept her motivated and willing to attempt a variety of activities. As Louise pointed out, this applies to everything we do in life; she advised our students to always remember that there isn’t just one way of doing things, highlighting the importance of not giving up in the face of adversity.

If you want to find out more about Louise and her life, please visit her website.

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See also Treloar’s welcomes back David Smith OBE