Toby Morgan (left) and Isabella Skipworth are both very excited to have qualified for Nationals in Brisbane.
Two Trundle para-athletes have qualified for nationals after competing at PSSA State Athletics Carnival at Olympic Park in Sydney recently.
Toby Morgan and Isabella Skipworth both qualified for NSW Athletics team to compete at the School Sport Australia Track & Field Championship in Brisbane later this month.
Toby, who is a Year 4 student at Parkes East Public School, not only came first in the junior boys multi class 800m event, but also broke the record in the T34 200m event. The NSW record was 1:28 and he ran it in 47 seconds!
Isabella is a student at St Patrick’s Primary School in Trundle and she became the champion in multi-class discuss with a distance of 12.80m.
Toby has spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine, and his parents were told he would be in a wheelchair all his life.
Toby’s mum Kelly said they were extremely proud of Toby’s achievement. “When Toby was born, he had surgery on day one to close the lesion on his back and have a shunt inserted in his brain for his hydrocephalus,” she said. “Following the surgery, the neurosurgeon advised us that Toby would be in a wheelchair, however he has proven him wrong.”
She said Toby started walking a bit before he was two with the aid of a walking frame. “At that time his feet were almost turned backwards. His walking improved and the physio told us he would likely use the walker until he started school.”
He only used it for about six months and started walking on his own.
Toby wears splints on his legs as he has absolutely no muscle in his legs below the knees and partial paralysis in his feet. This however doesn’t stop him from playing soccer, tennis, touch football and now athletics. He went to State earlier this year for Cross Country.