Senior Athletes

WEIR ARCHER ACADEMY ATHLETES:

Since the academy began in 2013, the Weir Archer team has gone from coaching and mentoring only a handful of athletes in the local area of Kingston to having competitors across the country and abroad, succeeding in not only local track meets but also at the Paralympic Games. Here are our senior athletes and some of the amazing achievements they have recorded.

A big thank you to our support coaches: Dave Lucas Level 4, Sasheana Gordon Level 4, Jake Foster Level 1, and Mark Hunnisett – Throwing Coach.

SENIOR ATHLETES:

DAVID WEIR CBE:

Athlete for Great Britain:

Eight times the London Marathon Winner
Six Paralympic gold medals
Two Paralympic silver medals
Two Paralympic bronze medals
One Commonwealth Games gold medal
Six IPC World Championship gold medals
Two IPC World Championship silver medals
Four IPC European Championship gold medals
Broke Sir Roger Bannisters four-minute mile record
World Record Holder for the Half Marathon
Ambassador for Virgin London Marathon
Current world record holder half marathon
First and only person to break the 3-minute mile Westminster 2017
Mirror Pride of Sport – Lifetime Achievement Award Oct 2017
Winner 2018 Great North Half marathon and course record
Winner 2018 London Marathon
Lifetime achievement award winner 2019

ABBIE HUNNISETT:

Athlete for Great Britain:

Three times Surrey Senior County Champion
Two times England Senior National Champion
German Open, Berlin bronze medal
CP World Games – World Champion
One World Championships in Doha bronze medal
Ranked 4th in the World (2014)
Ranked 1st in Europe (2015)
Ranked 1st in the UK (2015)
Ranked 3rd in the World (2015)
Competed in World Para Games London 2017

MO JOMNI:

Athlete for Great Britain

Made his Paralympic debut for Team GB at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio
One IPC World Championship bronze medal
Two IPC European Championship gold medals
Two IPC European Championship silver medals
Two IPC European Championship bronze medals
Active with taking WAA into the community with speaking events & helps the development & junior athletes
Currently UK number one in 200 & 400m
Won 3 bronze medals in European Para Games 2018
Overall club captain 2020

DILLON LABROOY:

Represented Great Britain at World Junior Championships

Current UK Ranking: 100m – 1st, 400m – 1st, 800m – 2nd, 1500m – 1st
Ranked in the UK top ten 2016: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500M
England Athletics Age Group Championships 2016:1500m – gold, 400m – gold, 100m – bronze
IWAS World Junior Championships 2015: 1500m – 1st (gold), 100m – 3rd (bronze)

Represented England in Commonwealth Games Australia April 2018
UK no 2 in 1500m and number 3 in 100 / 200 / 400 & 800m
European Para Athletics Bronze 400m Berlin & Gold in the universal relay
PB 2019 200m
Winner 800m Muller Anniversary Games
Outstanding track performance award 2019

JAMES FREEMAN:

Weir Archer Academy Athlete

Represented Team GB European Championships 2021
Represented Team GB Paralympics Tokyo 2021
Two-times Cerebral Palsy National Champion
Runner-up Weir Archer Athlete Of The Year
UK ranking improvement 100m / 400m / 800m
Selected for GB para development squad
Competed in World CP Games Barcelona
4 x 2019 PB’s
Broke 20 seconds in 100m for the first time
2019 Best development award

HILMY SHAWWAL:

Represented Great Britain at the World Junior Games

Bronze medals in the 100m,200m and 400m at IWAS Junior World Games in Prague
London Youth Games Record Holder in 100m and 200m
Winner of 12 gold medals between 2009 and 2015 at London Youth Games
Has set up charitable trust for disability equipment in Africa
UK ranking improvement 2018 – 100 / 200 / 400m
Selected for GB development squad 2019
2019 Citizen Award
Supported a Tanzanian project that supplied 45 wheelchairs
Boys club captain 2020

Jose Correia

Weir Archer Academy Athlete

Portuguese International athlete
WAA overseas Ambassador
Host to WAA winter warm weather training

Jean Pascal Laperotine

Joined WAA in 2019 and is now going to be a field events throwing specialist

2019 Highlight was the arrival of a new baby girl

NATASHA SETTELEN

Weir Archer Academy Athlete

First season racing 2018
Competed 5kms Dorney Lake Winter wonderwheels 2017 & 2018
Won CP Sport U20s athlete of the year 2018
4 x 2019 PB’s
Special recognition award winner 2019

FRANKLIN NGEMOH

I have been enjoying wheelchair racing since 2015 when I first discovered the sport. Sport is such an amazing thing because of what it gives you – it makes you feel good, it improves your health, it allows you to compete with others and you can improve at it with dedication and commitment. All these things are very valuable to everyone and that is why I’m glad the Weir Archer Academy exists.

Amongst a limited landscape of para-sport availability, the Weir-Archer Academy provides a social yet committed and rigorous environment with excellent facilities where athletes can develop themselves tremendously.

JAMIE EDWARDS:

Represented Great Britain and England at Junior Level

Three 2016 Paralympic School Games gold medals for GB in Brazil
Accepted into the Advanced Apprenticeship of Sporting Excellence programme by British Athletics
2016 Male Sports Achiever of the Year at the Somerset Sports Partnership Awards Ceremony
2017 World School Games gold medallist
Silver Medalist in the 800m at the 2018 Cerebral Palsy World Games
5 x 2019 PB’s
Number 2 in UK for 100m
Power of 10 ” climb ” award winner 2019

Morgan Woods

5 best achievements to date:

London BIG half 2023 – 2 days before my spinal op.
CP Sport Nationals 2022
2019 total PB x 15, 7 on the last day of the season at Stoke.
Coaches award winner 2019
2016 awarded the sports star of the year award – Worthing

Why wheelchair racing?

Other interests

Personal message

Why wheelchair racing?

WHY NOT! Freedom and the ability to compete on a fair basis.

Other interests

3D Gaming Art at Uni
Gaming Design at College

Personal message

“The greatest disability is the feeling of inferiority” Debasish Mridha

OLIVIA GALLAGHER

Weir Archer Academy Athlete

Cerebral Palsy Sport – Winner of the Junior Female Track Award for Most Improved Athlete
2016 Outstanding Performance Award
2016 Westminster Mile – 3rd place
2017 London Mini Marathon PB Performance
2018 – CP World games silver in 400m & bronze in 200m
2018 – Mirror Pride of Sport Young Sportsperson of the year
5 x 2019 PB’s
UK ranking number 1 across all distances
Fastest T33 in 2019 Muller Anniversary Games
Ranked no 3 world ranking in 800m & number 4 in 100/200/400m
Special recognition award winner 2019 / Variuos Ambassador roles

MARCUS PERRINEAU DALEY

32 years old had my accident at 25 which left me paralysed from the top chest down with a spinal cord injury C8. I’m a regular gym user and tried wheelchair boxing then tried wheelchair Rugby now found my love in wheelchair racing which makes a lot of sense because I’m a speed freak looooll

CLAUDIA BURROUGH

“After a number of years entering races in my day wheelchair I decided I wanted to try something different and race against other wheelchair athletes so joined the Weir Archer Academy. I’ve competed in 2 wheelchair races so far finishing 1st in the Westminster Mile 2021 and 3rd in the Vitality Big Half.

During the pandemic I took part in lots of virtual challenges in my day chair finishing 1st in the Centurion One Community 100-mile Challenge and 5th in the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee 1021km.

Regular Park Run 5kms on Saturdays and love trying different courses.

My preference is long distances but I’m looking forward to being able to compete on the track next year. “

ELLIS KOTTAS

Having competed internationally in swimming pre my spinal cord injury, I have started wheelchair racing for a fresh start in a new sport with like mined people.

I am looking forward to competing in my first years racing in 2022

James Freeman T33

5 best achievements to date:

Completed the London big half marathon (2023)
European record holder in the 800 metres (2023)
Competed at the Tokyo Paralympics, representing Team GB (2021)
Ranked 3rd in the World for wheelchair racing in my classification (2021)
Competed at the 2021 European championships (2021)

Why wheelchair racing?

Other interests

Personal message

Why wheelchair racing?

Short answer it’s the best, long answer it helped me develop and achieve things I never thought possible. Growing up I didn’t know anyone else like me. It’s been incredibly refreshing to grow alongside Weir Archer and see it blossom into what it is today. I’m proud to have been a member since it started, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the future. Wheelchair racing has taught me discipline, organisation and greatly improved my confidence. I would not be where I am today without it.

Other interests

I’m a huge geek and a proud one at that. Film’s, videogames, comic books and fictional books are my jam. When I’m not training you can find me watching a few different films on repeat with subtitles on. I also enjoy playing dungeons and dragons with my friends, seeing showcases of independent films at the BFI. Whenever I get a space moment, I host a solo podcast on Spotify called Film with Freeman.

Personal message

I’m a firm believer that as people when it comes to our goals, we must focus on what we can do not what we can’t do. I spent years chasing my Paralympic dream and it took me over 10 years to achieve it. A lot of people wrote me off, however I firmly believe you can achieve just about anything.

Nathalie Garner, T54

Best achievements to date:

Ranked 6th in T54 for 400m in the UK
PB 100m at ESAA combined Event and championships
Completing the Vitality Westminster Mile in 5 minutes
Junior sports team of the year 2023

Why wheelchair racing?

Other interests

Personal message

Why wheelchair racing?

It allows me to release any stress or anger when I am pushing. I really love the speed that I can achieve with the power of my arms.

Other interests

Learning new languages, travelling, movies

Personal message

“No pain no gain” is what I remember to motivate me through a tough training session.

Claudia Burrough

5 best achievements to date:
Completed 100 miles around an athletics track in 14:44:18 achieving 6 ultra marathon world records
Hold the Guinness World Record for Fastest Marathon in a Non-Racing Wheelchair (Female)
First self propelled wheelchair user to finish the Comrades Marathon (90km) in South Africa twice.
1st Place and a course record at the 2024 Brighton Half Marathon
1st place in first marathon in my racing chair at Dublin Marathon

Why wheelchair racing?

Other interests

Personal message

Why wheelchair racing?

Prior to becoming a wheelchair user I really enjoyed running and took part in parkrun every week. Looking for a challenge I signed up for the London Marathon however, 8 months before the race I became a wheelchair user. Undeterred I decided to complete the marathon in my day chair and found a love for taking part in races in my day chair alongside my running friends. Fast forward a few years and I wanted a new challenge so looked at competitive wheelchair and was fortunate to find Weir Archer Academy. I love the individual personal challenge of wheelchair racing but also the opportunity to be part of a club and train alongside team mates.

Other interests

I play wheelchair rugby and wheelchair cricket which I really enjoy! I love taking part in parkrun every week and have now completed over 200 parkruns at over 100 different events. I enjoy watching sport particularly rugby, cricket, cycling and motorsport. I love spending my summers road tripping around Europe visiting new places!

Personal message

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Weir Archer Academy for all their support! To all the volunteer coaches for their time and belief in us athletes, the volunteers for helping support the club and keep it running and the other athletes for their help and support.