Rebecca Scott targeting future Paralympic place

By James Reid, Sportsbeat

Hertfordshire speedster Rebecca Scott didn’t even know how to get to the Paralympics until it quickly became a realistic dream.

The 17-year-old from Pirton, who competes in the T47 and F46 classifications, took up athletics aged 10 and was quickly selected for a Paralympic Development Academy.

It meant the long jump and sprint specialist was assigned specific coaches to help with her development, which has in turn helped Scott realise her goal of going to the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

“Before I got selected for the Paralympic Development Academy, I didn’t really know much,” said Scott, who has been selected to be part of Aldi’s Rising Stars programme, an initiative with SportsAid that provides talented young athletes with financial support, recognition and personal development opportunities.

“I had watched the Olympics and Paralympics but didn’t know how you got there. Once I got selected, I saw it as something I could actually do.

“The 2028 Paralympics for me is the real focus. 2024 is probably too soon, though not completely unlikely as I am in the mix in the world rankings but 2028 is the main focus.

“I started doing athletics when I was in Year 5. I played a lot of sports but my friends went to athletics and on sports days, you would try it out and think maybe you’d be a good runner. I went and really enjoyed it.

“I did it for a few years in a mixed events group and then got selected for the Paralympic Development Academy, and they chose me for long jump. I got a proper long jump, and I now do sprints and long jump training.”

Each athlete on the Rising Stars programme, which was launched with SportsAid last year, receives funding to help towards costs such as travel, accommodation, equipment and nutrition, with Aldi also delivering workshop sessions on a range of topics to help nurture athletes for their sporting endeavours and beyond.

This includes top tips on healthy eating and performance nutrition, restful sleep, managing mental wellbeing, social media training and working with the media.

In addition, the talented young athletes, who have been nominated to SportsAid by the governing bodies of their respective sports, play a key role in the promotion of the supermarket’s ‘Get Set to Eat Fresh’ programme, which aims to educate children on the importance of a healthy diet.

To date this partnership has reached over 2.2 million young people, with a target to educate an extra one million children by the end of 2024.

Scott balances training alongside her A-Level studies at Bedford Modern, with the top rate facilities at the school a huge benefit to her progress.

The teenager has also received words of wisdom from fellow para-athlete Claire Cashmore as she tackles all facets of life, including learning to drive to take the burden off her parents when travelling to competitions all over the country.

“I train twice a week for long jump and then once a week for sprints, along with strength and conditioning – it’s quite busy,” she added.

“At the moment, I am competing most weekends. They often take up a full day or even a weekend.

“The travel can be quite far and sometimes you have to stay over but most of the time it’s not too bad – my mum drives me everywhere!

“I met Claire Cashmore through a charity called Reach, for people with upper limb differences. She has always been really kind and helpful – I can message her, she has helped me, and I am learning[EM(U2] to drive.

“I train and compete with a lot of people who have been to the Paralympics and hearing their stories, even following them on Instagram, is really helpful and you can speak to them about anything.

“My test is quite soon so I am hoping I will pass – I can drive for the summer and my mum won’t have to drive me around all the time!”

Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024