Aiming for Paralympic success

A student at Fairfield Farm College,  Mitchel Brown, is on course to meet the qualification standard for next year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. 

Mitchel is a keen runner, with the 100m and 200m as his main events. He is currently ranked 7th in the UK for the 200m.  His talent was spotted by Rachel Bown, his sports teacher, when he joined the college three years ago. Rachel linked him with a local athletics club in Lavington and entered him for his first competition, The National Youth Disability Games in Warwickshire, in 2017.  

Mitchel does not let his cerebral palsy and learning difficulties get in the way of his ambitions. He is unfazed by competing against able-bodied athletes in mainstream competitions, as well as racing against those with a similar disability as a member of Cerebral Palsy Sport.  

He currently trains with Deborah Bray in preparation for qualifiers for the Paralympics in Tokyo. The team at Fairfield Farm College, Lavington Athletics Club and his family are all behind him, giving him the support he needs to break his personal best.

He has recently completed the Ultra Challenge by walking 25 kilometres, joined by his mother and sister, all in aid of raising funds for his own charity and raising funds for the college towards the new indoor sports arena. 

Mitchel said, “It was really hard, but I listened to a podcast and some music and just got on with it.” 

The he college said, “Fitting all this sport in around his studies is sometimes difficult, but he’s used to running around!”