A spectacular athlete
15 February 2012
RNZFB member and cyclist, Phillipa Gray, is currently competing in her final tests with the hope of qualifying for London 2012 Paralympics.
Phillipa and her tandem partner Laura are currently in Los Angeles racing at the Track World Championships, the final international event which counts towards qualifying for the games.
Phillipa and Laura participate in the 3km pursuit, competing for the top spot against their Great Britain and Aussie rivals.
Their rigorous training regime and limited time between races has forced the duo to have ice cold baths, followed by a quick 15 minute rub of their legs and then back onto the tracks for a medal ride off!
However even under these conditions of intense pressure, Phillipa and Laura are managing to achieve and are happy with their results. Through their hard work and dedication they were able to gain two seconds from the Great Britain team to claim bronze for one race.
"Laura and I are estatic with the result. a lot of hard work has gone in behind the scene to produce the result and with the both of us fighting sinus infections from the travel over we were still able to produce the goods, so very happy there," Phillipa says.
We wish the pair success in their coming races and await the final selection for the games to be announced in late April.