Sarah Hope
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Sarah Hope | |
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| Born | December 27, 1984 |
| Occupation | Athlete |
Sarah Hope (born 27 December 1984) is a dual-sport athlete, having represented Great Britain in both wheelchair basketball and para ice hockey.
Early life
Sarah grew up in Burgess Hill, England and was a runner before her mobility was affected by a condition called peripheral neuropathy.[1] She now lives in Redditch, Worcestershire.[2]
Wheelchair basketball
Sarah started playing wheelchair basketball in 2010 after a hereditary condition stopped her from being able to run. She signed with Coventry Wheelchair Basketball Academy and stayed with the club until retirement in 2023.
Going part time at work allowed Sarah to train with the Great Britain women's team every day, before eventually making the switch to full time training in September 2017.[3] This coincided with the high performance programme relocating to the Elite Training Centre at EIS Sheffield.[4]
Sarah was selected as a reserve for the 2018 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, but received the call-up to attend[5] just 10 days before. This tournament saw the Great Britain's team highest ranking to date, securing a silver medal.[6]
Sarah retired from international wheelchair basketball after the Tokyo 2020 cycle.[1] Prior to her international retirement, she was the first player to sign for the newly formed Worcester Wolves team in the British Wheelchair Basketball Women's Premier League.[7] She returned to Wolves for one more season,[8] reprising her role as captain, before retiring completely from the sport in May 2023.[9]
Para Ice hockey
Sarah's first tournament was the Women's World Challenge in 2022, just 10 months after starting the sport.[1] She served as captain to the newly formed Great Britain team.[2]
Autism advocacy
Sarah started being more open about her autism diagnosis in 2018, and later started advocating for more autistic people to get active, whether that be through sport or other exercise.[10][11] Sarah gave a number of interviews during the Covid-19 lockdown to various publications, including the National Autistic Society,[3] Spautism, and We Are Girls In Sport.
Sarah volunteered as ambassador to the Keep Achieving programme between 2000 and 2022, which promoted sports for families with autistic children,[12] even securing a $10,000 grant from the P&G Athletes for Good Fund.[13]
A class was named after her at The Springfields Academy, a school for autistic students, in 2022.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Sarah Hope helping create 'something brand new'". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Redditch star Sarah looking to raise profile of two disability sports". Redditch Standard. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "I am over-sensitive to sensory stimuli, which can be difficult in a lot of aspects of life, not just basketball". www.autism.org.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ Williams, Dani (4 December 2017). "British Wheelchair Basketball Opens GB Elite Training Centre". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "Worcester Court star Sarah heads for the ice". Worcester Observer. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "World Championships Past Results". IWBF - International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "Wolves announce first signing ahead of inaugural Women's Premier League season". Worcester News. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ↑ Fagan, Bethan (22 January 2023). "WPL 2023: Season preview with Worcester Wolves". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ "Coventry wheelchair basketball star to retire at the end of the season". Coventry Observer. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ "Sarah Hope: The ultimate goal - Sport and Autism (UK) CIC". spautism.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ "Celebrating neurodiversity with Sarah Hope". WE ARE GIRLS IN SPORT. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "Midlands Psychology". www.midlandspsychology.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ "P&G ATHLETES FOR GOOD FUND" (PDF). Olympics. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ↑ website, The Springfields Academy. "Explorer (5-13)". The Springfields Academy. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
External links
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