Team Essex Ambassadors 2008/9

Team Essex Ambassador's Award 2008/09

October 2008 saw the launch of the Team Essex Ambassadors Awards the top tier funding that Essex County Council supports for athletes.  The award provides grant aid to those athletes who have the potential to compete in the Lodon 2012 Olymipic Games and Paralympic Games but also contribute time as ambassadors to encourage young people to get involved in sport and strive to be the best they can. 

Essex County Council announced 12 athletes as Team Essex Ambassadors 2008/09 who were each awarded a £6,500 bursary.  Nine of these athletes are potential London 2012 Olympians and three are potential London 2012 Paralympians.  They are also ambassadors for the county and are attached to a School Sports Partnership within the county to perform at least three ambassadorial duties for them. 

To visit the biographies of the 12 Team Essex Ambassadors and to view their online blogs leading up to 2012, click on thier profiles below:

Daniel Bentley (Boccia – Individual & Team)

Daniel lives in Great Dunmow, but is currently studying at Portsmouth University. He started playing Boccia 8 years ago at Treloar College and his first international was in Belgium, where he captained a young side and managed to get third place against some top sides in the world. He was the Czech national champion in 2003, a European silver medallist in Portugal in 2004 and the British champion in 2008. He won a Paralympic gold medal in Beijing as an integral part of the BC1/2 team. Daniel was also very close to reaching the last eight of the BC2 individual competition.

Sarah Claxton (Athletics 100m Hurdles)

Sarah is from Colchester, but belongs to the Woodford Green & Essex Ladies Athletics Club. She is also a life member of Colchester & Tendring Athletics Club. She started out as a long jumper, winning four successive English Schools titles, but now specialises in the 100 metres hurdles. She is currently ranked number 1 in Great Britain and 16th in the world over this distance. Sarah represented Team GB at the Beijing Olympics and reached the 100 metres final, finishing in 8th position.

Ryan Crouch (Disability Swimming)

Ryan is a pupil of Manningtree High School and has developed through the English Talent Programme to be a member of the World Class Pathway – Development Programme in 2008. He is ranked 3rd in Great Britain in the 50 metres and 100 metres freestyle events. In 2008 Ryan competed in the Junior Nationals, Junior GB Team in Denmark and in the Senior Nationals in November last year, when he won 3 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals and he raced alongside some Paralympians who swam at the Beijing Games.

Martin Evans (Sailing – Laser Class)

Martin is a resident of West Mersea and a pupil of Colchester Royal Grammar School. He is a member of the Royal Yachting Association National Laser Squad at Under 19 level. He is ranked at number 1 in the world at under17 age group in the Laser Radial class and 2nd in the world at under 19 in the Youth Worlds. In 2008 he competed at many championships and medalled at numerous events and was invited to the National Talent Orientation Camp, working with the likes of Kelly Holmes and a host of Olympic medallists to fine tune his training programme. One of his ambitions is to gain coaching qualifications, so that he can coach sailors in his local area.

Sophie Fitzgerald (Women’s Artistic Gymnastics)

Sophie is currently a year 9 pupil at The Bromfords School in Wickford. She is on the British Gymnastics World Class Start Squad 11- 13 age group and during last year she competed in the British Schools, UK School Games (3RD place all round) English Junior Championships (2nd place all round) and the British Championships. Sophie also had the opportunity last year of visiting the prestigious Nadia Comaneci Gymnastics School in Romania with the World Class Start Squad. Sophie is keen to assist her younger team mates in their training.

Russell Hampton (Cycling – Endurance, track and road)

Russell is from Basildon and is a member of the 100% ME & Glendene Cycling Club, based in Brentwood. He is a member of the British Cycling Olympic Academy Programme, age group 18-23 years, which is for riders identified as being highly talented. He spends 8 months of the year based in Italy, where he races and trains and then the rest of the year is spent at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester where he has use of the Olympic cycle track. Russell hopes to gain a professional contract to enable him to further his ambitions of being a top road/track rider.

 

Daniel King (Athletics – Race Walking)

Daniel is one of two twin brothers who are actively involved in Race Walking. He lives near Colchester and is a member of Colchester Harriers Athletic Club. He is ranked number 1 in Great Britain in the 10 kilometre, 20 kilometre, 50 kilometre, plus 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres events. His main aim for 2009 is to qualify for the World Championships in the summer in Germany and use the European Cup of Racewalking in France as a stepping stone to this. He also wishes to compete in the Commonwealth Games in 2010 as a build up to the 2012 Games.

 

Dominic King (Athletics – Race Walking)

Dominic resides in Colchester and is a member of the Colchester Harriers Athletic Club. He is currently ranked number 2nd in GB in both the 20 kilometres walk and the 50 kilometres walk. He expects to compete in the European Race Walking Championships this year as well as the World Championships in Germany. He also holds a level 2 UKA Coaches licence for Endurance & Race Walking and has worked at local schools to talk about his experiences of Race Walking and he is happy to work in an ambassador’s role, working with local schools to inspire children to get involved in sport.

 

Alexander O’ Connell (Fencing – Men’s Sabre)

Alex hails from Brentwood and is a member of Brentwood Fencing Club. He is currently studying Classical Greek and Latin a Cambridge University. He became GB’s youngest World Champion aged 16 when he won the Under 17 cadet title at the 2005 World Junior Championships and he is the current Commonwealth senior and junior individual sabre champion. He was Team GB’s sole fencing representative in Beijing, but was eliminated in the qualifying rounds. He is keen to promote fencing locally and throughout the UK.

Chloe Rogers (Hockey)

Chloe is a former pupil of Helena Romanes School in Great Dunmow, and she is now a member of Leicester Outdoor and Chelmsford Indoor squads. Before joining Leicester she previously played outdoor hockey for Chelmsford ladies for 8 seasons. She has been an integral member of the GB and England squads over the past few years and made her GB debut against Japan in 2003 and participated in the Beijing Olympics last year, when the team were placed 6th overall. Chloe has also represented England in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and was top goal scorer for England in the 2006 World Cup and represented England again in the European Cup in Manchester in 2007.

Anne Wafula Strike (Athletics – Wheelchair Racing)

Anne is a member of Harlow Running Club. She grew up in Kenya and made history in 2004 when she became the first Kenyan woman to compete in a Paralympic Games, reaching the final in the T53 400metres final in Athens. In 2005 she became a British citizen and is now an experienced GB wheelchair racer. She has been part of the GB squad for the last 2 years and in 2008 Anne was the fastest female GB racer over 100 metres and 200 metres. She is currently ranked just outside the top 10 in the world in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres. Unfortunately for Anne, she missed out on selection for the Beijing Paralympics by 0.1 of a second in the 100 metres.

Francesca Whitby (Basketball)

Frances lives in the Rochford district of Essex and is a member of Southend Swifts Basketball Club. She is a current member of the England Under 16 Team and competed in the 2008 European Championships in Bulgaria last year. In 2009 she hopes to train with the Under 18 squad and hopes to gain selection for the European Championships in the summer. Sophie attends the Barking Abbey Basketball Academy and studies at Barking Abbey High School in Barking. She was one of only 6 under 16 players in the whole country to be offered a place at Barking. Attending the academy will greatly enhance her potential of being an Olympian in 2012. She also works with the younger students at the academy and teaches them basketball and works with them to stay fit and healthy.

Jo Jo Cranfield Essex County Council Paralympic Hopeful

Swimmer Jo Jo Cranfield was one of 10 talented athletes presented with an award at the Annual Essex Sports Awards hosted by sportessex in November 2008. Jo-Jo won the award in the category of Paralympic Hopeful.  This award was sponsored by Essex County Council and therefore Jo-Jo has been encompassed withing the Team Essex Ambassadors 2008/09.

To find out more about Jo Jo Cranfield click here to visit her website