Two sets of twins take home 12 medals from National Championships
Two sets of twins won a staggering 12 medals between them at the National Junior Athletics Championships last weekend (1-2 July).
Competitive pair Jack and Lola from Leicestershire picked up an impressive six-medal haul, while Hassan and Hussein from Cork also took home three golds and three silvers.
Jack and Lola won four golds and two silver medals at the event, which saw young disabled athletes from across the country compete at the University of Warwick Athletics Track in Coventry.
The 11-year-olds, from Desford, each won two golds and a silver at the event.
Jack struck gold in discus and 100 metres, while he was runner-up in the 60 metres sprint. His sister won gold at 60 metres and in the javelin and won silver in the 100 metres.
An elated Jack said:
“I am very proud that I have done so well this weekend but I am pleased it is finished as I cannot feel my legs after the running!”
Lola said:
“It was so much fun and I am happy to have won the medals.”
Proud mum Nicki said:
“They were really excited to come here and it’s been really lovely watching everybody take part. They were shaking hands and encouraging each other. I’m really emotional because they (Jack and Lola) did so well.”
Meanwhile Hassan and Hussein capped a remarkable week, which saw them meet President Michael D Higgins at a garden party and star in a television advert for Aldi supermarkets.
The 14-year-olds competed against each other in the seated discus, javelin and shot put events with Hussein winning gold in shot put and javelin and his brother claiming silver. The roles were reversed in the discus with Hassan pipping his brother to gold with Hussein taking silver.
Mum Angie drove the twins, with support from sister Iman, 16, and revealed that weekend was especially poignant as Sunday (2 July) marked 14 years since her 12 week scan showed that the twins were conjoined.
She revealed how a healthy sibling rivalry spurs the twins on to achieve new heights. She said:
“We all have a great laugh about how competitive they are. They couldn’t care about how other kids do at events but they will always ask ‘how did my brother do?’. It eggs them on.”
Across the two days, 150 young disabled athletes from across England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland took part in more than 60 races and more than 20 field events. The event was attended by hundreds of volunteers and spectators, including Sport England’s Chair Chris Boardman and Coventry’s Paralympic star Kare Adenegan.
The National Junior Athletics Championships was this year supported by People’s Partnership, which provides The People’s Pension to six million workers in the UK.
