Paralympic star looks to future success

3:00pm Friday 3rd October 2008

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A CHILDHOOD accident left Kate Grey with only one hand, but the Olympic hopeful will never let her disability stand in the way of success.

Kate was just two years old when she lost the lower part of her left arm.

"I grew up on a farm and I just put my hand in a sausage machine. I used to think it would grow back.

"I don’t remember anything apart from the ride in the ambulance. I think it had a greater effect on my parents," she said.

The young swimming sensation has just returned home to Thornbury from Beijing, where she represented Great Britain in the Paralympic 100-metre breaststroke.

Kate reached the final but was not quite fast enough to bring home any medals. However, at only 19 years of age, her focus is now on London 2012.

"It is strange to be back and it is all over. I’ve decided I’m going to use Beijing as experience and use 2012 to shine. I learnt a lot of valuable lessons this summer.

"I was only ranked ninth before the event so to get to the final was great," she said.

And it is this dogged determination that has seen the former Castle School pupil triumph over adversity.

Stephen Andrews, clinical manager of prosthetics at Southmead Hospital, where Kate received treatment as a child, said: "Right from the beginning Kate had this incredible outlook on things.

"We had never had such a young child in as an amputee before and to begin with Kate wore an artificial arm all the time, but in the end she just got on with it in her own way."

Before turning her focus to swimming Kate used to be a member of Thornbury Swimming Club and Netball Club, Almondsbury Netball Club and Yate Athletics Club, competing against able-bodied opponents.

Kate said: "Because I was so young when I lost my arm it was almost like being born with it. I don’t remember having two hands.

"I have never been down about it, now or when I was young, I just got on with things.

"Representing my country at a sport was always something I wanted to do and when I got involved with swimming and then disablement swimming there was the opportunity to progress quite far."

As well as looking ahead to 2012, Kate is also busy working towards her degree in education and sport development at the University of Bath.

"I would like to be a P.E. teacher. A lot of kids will say I can’t do that, I can’t throw this but I can say I can do it and I only have one hand.

"I want to use my motivation to help encourage other people," she added.