Guardian UK (July24, 2012)- Like other elite athletes, Victoria Bromley exhibits impressive commitment and drive. Since first taking up table tennis at the age of 10 she has won a string of competitions. Now at 26, she is training upwards of 25 hours a week in preparation for the Paralympic Games.
Bromley, who lives in Wolverhampton and works full time as a carer, is one of nine British athletes with a learning disability to qualify for the 2012 Games. She is clearly thrilled. "It was such an enormous surprise," she says. "I couldn't believe it. I'm training really hard, and really looking forward to going to London."
The Games will be the first for 12 years in which athletes with learning disabilities will be allowed to compete. A controversial ban was imposed by the International Paralympics Committee after the Sydney Games in 2000, which saw the Spanish basketball team stripped of its gold medals after some members were accused of faking learning disabilities. The lifting of the ban means people with learning disabilities are now permitted to compete in certain events in three sports: swimming, athletics and table tennis.
"It's so good that learning disability is allowed back in," says Bromley, who has a mild disability that affects her ability with literacy and numeracy. While qualifying for the Paralympic Games is a formidable achievement for Bromley, she says she could not have done it without the support of her partner, friends, teachers, and in particular, Special Olympics – a global organisation that works year-round with people with learning difficulties.
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