17-year-old Anya Waugh has no fear when it comes to flying down a racing track.

Her need for speed has taken her to some incredible competitions, but ultimately Anya dreams of competing at a Paralympic Games.

Her sporting journey began in 2013, shortly after watching the London 2012 Paralympics, a spectacle that inspired Anya to become the person she was destined to be.

“The Paralympics opened my eyes as they allowed me to see people who were just like me.

“I didn’t even know what Paralympic sport was before that. So, to see people like me being able to compete and win medals was just amazing,” she said.

Before she knew it, she was on her way down to Sheffield to try her hand at a range of sports.

“After the Games they had a sport festival where you could try different sports. I tried pretty much everything, but I just kept going back to racing.

“The last time I got in the chair, one of the coaches told me I was talented and that he was going to find me a club.

“But I was so young, and it took some time to find a team that would be happy with having a 7-year-old,” Anya explained.

Shortly after, she began to see her success flourish, and wondered if there was a chance of developing a career from the sport.

Born with spina bifida, Anya has significant nerve damage to her bladder and bowel, meaning she is paralysed from the knees down and has weakness in her hips and trunk.

A full-time wheelchair user, Anya has proven to have incredible levels of dedication, and doesn’t allow anything to stand in the way of her dreams.

After a year of training, she began to compete, earning incredible accolades and setting herself up for a successful future.

Working hard to put her name out there, Anya has been invited to a range of prestigious competitions, where she has had fantastic experiences.

“The Diamond League was my favourite competition, it was amazing to race in front of people on the television and to get a taste of what elite sport is like.

“The competition was also in Birmingham and acted as the test event for the Commonwealth Games. My race was in the morning, so I was one of the very first people to race on the new track.

“To be in the stadium, that had a massive capacity, was amazing, and even when I was there the crowds were fantastic.”

The Diamond League gave Anya a glimpse into the life of an elite athlete, which she hopes will soon be her reality.

She has been named as part of the 2023 England Paralympic talent programme, aimed at people who have the potential to be selected for elite teams in the next 6-8 years.

With her hard work, she will undoubtedly reach her goal, and her hard work is hard to miss.

The Stalybridge athlete trains six days a week, using different techniques to improve her athleticism.

 On Monday’s she heads down to Liverpool with her team, on Wednesday she trains in Manchester and for another four days of the week she trains at home on her rollers.

Anya likens her rollers to a treadmill but for a racing chair, allowing her to push without moving anywhere.

It’s by no means a cheap sport, and participants are expected to fund racing chairs, wheels, and gloves alongside travel costs.

“It’s so important that I have my racing chair, as I can’t race without the main thing. The one I have at the moment, I’ve had that for four or five years now.

“It’s not the best fitting anymore and to be the best that I can be I need a chair that is made for me.

“The chair alone can be up to £6k, racing gloves are £150 per pair and tyres cost around £120 and we go through a fair amount a season,” Anya said.

It is vital that she has the best equipment to succeed in her sport, and so is appealing to the public to help her with fundraising.

It takes a lot of determination and work to propel your name forward, especially as Anya finds herself in the most common qualification for wheelchair racing.

“I’m in the T54 classification for spinal cord injuries or amputees, 54 is the least severe, meaning there are a lot of people in it.

“It’s very hard to make yourself known and get your name out there.

“But my dream is to make the Paralympics, you don’t go this far without wanting that, the dream is to make it elite."

Aged just 17, Anya has shown plenty of talent and grit to achieve. Sport has been the biggest part of her life for over a decade, and it will continue to be a large part as she develops through her career.

Athletes like Anya will become the next generation of superstars, providing great role models for young sport fans.

Help Anya on her journey by donating here.

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