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A Jersey gymnast is nearly halfway towards her £3,000 fundraising goal to help her take part in the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin this summer - and is hoping islanders will help her achieve her target.
Chloe Russell started doing gymnastics when she was just six years old at Mont L’Abbe school.
17 years later, she’ll have the opportunity to bring home a gold medal from the Special Olympics World Games as part of Team GB.
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports body for children and adults with disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to five million participants in 172 countries. This year's games in Berlin will see 7,000 athletes compete across 26 sports disciplines.
However, being an olympian from Jersey comes with a number of extra costs that the other athletes from the UK won’t have. For instance, Team GB will be holding training weekends for its athletes to prepare for the games, which Chloe will need to fly to and from.
Pictured: The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 millions participants in 172 countries.
Chloe is hoping to raise £3,000 to go towards this, and to help her purchase the necessary kit. Any money that is raised over this amount will go into the pot for all the athletes taking part.
At the time of writing, she has reached just over £1,200, so more support is needed.
For Chloe, it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Chloe has Ataxic cerebral palsy, a condition which causes problems with balance and coordination. However, Chloe has been able to pursue her love of gymnastics in spite of this with the help of the Jersey Special Gymnastics club.
Pictured: Chloe Russell, part of Team GB for the Special Olympic World Games in 2023.
The work of the club has been incredibly important to Chloe. She said: “It’s so important for all of us. It’s about not being seen as disabled. As a gymnast, my sporting ability is seen more than my disability.”
The sport has also helped her physically cope with her disability and her overall mobility. Susan Russell, Chloe's mum, explained: “She couldn’t even walk in a straight line when she first went, now she’s competing at international level.”
The games themselves will be taking place later this year, running from 17 to 25 June. After qualifying last summer, Chloe will be competing in the Gymnastics-Artistic category. This involves four distinct disciplines: Vaulting, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise. She said: "The bars have always been my favourite."
Luckily for Chloe, her events come right at the end of proceedings, so she can go and soak up as much of the games as possible.
Whilst there, she’ll be staying in the Olympic Village, will meet dignitaries including the German Chancellor and will take part in the opening and closing ceremonies. Chloe said she was "so excited" for the opening ceremony that she "can't stop smiling" when she thinks about it.
Pictured: The Uneven Bars, one of the disciplines Chloe will be tackling in Berlin.
She continued: “If it wasn’t for the coaches being by my side I wouldn’t have been able to do it… I’ve wanted this for so long and my mindset is really positive. I want to win, but the taking part with all the best athletes in the world is amazing by itself. I am hoping for top division, so if I come fifth, I’ll be the fifth in the world…but I’m going to be against some top competition.”
“The Russians are always very good," Susan added.
Chloe also works as a Teaching Assistant at Mont L’Abbé primary school and the students couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming games. Susan said: “The kids are absolutely delighted. I think they might be more excited than I am, they literally cannot contain their excitement.”
Pictured: Chloe works as a teaching assistant at Mont A L'Abbe school, where she started her gymnastics career aged 6.
The school has graciously given Chloe time off, has shared her achievement in its newsletter and the kids have even started a countdown. Chloe said: “They said, ‘do it outside Normans!’… If, if, I do get a medal I will bring it in to show them.”
The Jersey Special Gymnastics Club has been instrumental in getting Chloe where she is today. However, the club was recently evicted from their previous residence at Greenfields after a report by the Jersey Care Commission said the facility should be exclusively used by residents of the secure home for young people. Since then, the club has found what Head Coach Nikki Kirkland described as a "sticking plaster" temporary base, but not a permanent home.
Susan said she was immensely grateful for the club's help in getting Chloe where she is today.
“It’s not just a gymnastics club, it’s a support mechanism and a community," she explained. "Chloe had her disabilities and, as a parent, it's hard to know where to get your information from… My biggest source of information was from that club. I'm hugely grateful for everything they do."
As such, they encourage anyone who might be able to help them to locate a new premises to get in touch with Nikki via email: jsyspecialgym@hotmail.com.
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