When the 2012 Paralympics took place in London, they took the nation by storm with more people watching them on TV than ever before.
But the Games weren't just about sporting achievement; they were also about attitudes too.
Ben Grainger, younger brother of AXA Wealth International employee- Jamie Callister, decided that having been inspired by the games in 2012, his New Year’s Resolution for 2013 would be to start swimming competitively.
Ben lives with a genetic condition called Amniotic Banding, whereby he was born without his left hand. Throughout his childhood, ten year old Ben has been brought up and treated as an able bodied person and encouraged to take part in mainstream sports, with swimming being one of them.
The London 2012 Paralympics proved to be ‘more inspiring’ for kids than the Olympics, as discovered by a survey commissioned by BBC Newsround. The survey revealed that over half of eight to 12 year olds asked found the Paralympics more inspiring and suggests that these games in particular had a profound effect on children across the UK.
Ben, being one of these children, took what he saw from the games and set himself three aspirational goals to aspire towards, these being: To become a member of the Isle of Man Swimming club, to qualify for their island swim team by the end of 2013, and to challenge himself to achieve his overall aim of being selected to compete in National events by 2015.
Wasting no time in achieving his goals, by March this year Ben had joined in swimming sessions, training for the Manx Youth Games. It was through these training sessions that Lee Holland, Head Coach of Isle of Man Swimming noticed real potential in Ben. Lee noticed that through missing his left hand, Ben was working much harder than his peers.
Through his hard work and commitment, only two months from joining the Isle of Man Swimming club, Ben was asked to join the Island Development squad. Since training with this squad, his capability has gone from strength to strength enabling him to compete in galas both on the Island and in Arena League Teams in the North West of England.
Last month, after seeing Ben’s swimming times, Ben was invited to Sheffield to compete in the National Short Course Championships whereby he was star struck to be warming up in the next lane to Ellie Simmonds, professional swimmer for Great Britain and four times Paralympic Champion.
Having achieved a phenomenal amount in the past 12 months, he has been identified as an asset to Isle of Man Swimming and the Isle of Man alike. Looking ahead to 2014, in harmony with the funding provided by AXA Wealth International to Isle of Man Swimming, Ben has already been invited to swim in many upcoming National events - all of which are opening up to be the start of a great adventure ahead.
Photo - Ben Grainger and Isle of Man Swimming's Head Coach Lee Holland
