CLEGG Libby

Classification
T11, F11 (IPC, 04 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (newschain.uk, 03 Feb 2020)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (express.co.uk, 26 Jan 2020)

Impairment Details
At age nine she was diagnosed with Stargardt macular dystrophy. The condition means she has only slight peripheral vision in her left eye. (elizabethclegg.co.uk, 06 Jun 2013; bbc.com, 22 Aug 2012)

Guide
Chris Clarke (bbc.co.uk, 25 Aug 2020; newschain.uk, 03 Feb 2020)

General
MOTHERHOOD
She became a mother for the first time in April 2019 after giving birth to her son Edward. She had returned to training by June of that year, finding new motivation and focus even though she noticed a number of changes to her body. "My body isn't my own any more, it feels completely different and really alien. It has gradually got better as the weeks have gone on. I'm improving, but your priorities change. I was desperate to get back on the track about two weeks after I had had him. He is my world, that totally changes your priorities in that sense. I want to put everything into my training. Every moment I'm away from him, I want to make sure it is worthwhile." (bbc.co.uk, 10 Nov 2019, 25 Jun 2019)

COVID-19 IMPACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 she spoke about the difficulties of training as a visually impaired athlete when her physical contact with guide Chris Clarke and coach Joe McDonnell was limited. "Not being able to run attached is really hard and we've had to up the verbal communication, which Chris himself would say he's not the best at. We've had to really work on it because it usually is a physical communication so that's been difficult and I'm not able to run to my flat-out speed. Even things like going into the gym, the staff can help you find equipment but they can't pick anything up for you, they're not allowed to touch anything. It's just made things all a little bit more difficult. I was going on to the 4G pitch during the lockdown and Joe was meeting me there. Obviously, he was not allowed to technically coach me. But he was letting me know if I was running near the fence. It's not ideal but that's all I was able to do. I obviously can't run on a road or a normal field because there's divots and it's quite dangerous when you can't see anything. And if I trip and twist my ankles, that's really not very good. A lot of blind people are quite tactile as well. So, if I go to the supermarket, for example, I pick things up and feel it. Like, pasta, rice, whatever. You feel it, right? Well, you can't really do that." (bbc.co.uk, 25 Aug 2020; athleticsweekly.com, 30 Jun 2020)

DANCING ON ICE
In 2020 she took part in the British competition television show 'Dancing on Ice'. "It's been a learning process. On the track I run with a guide runner and we're attached all the time. It's like learning a different vocabulary to communicate. Myself and my [ice skating] partner Mark Hanretty use touch and verbal communication. I'm not as bad as I thought I was going to be, but it's not as easy as it looks. It's very technical. Paula [Dunn, British Para athletics head coach] expressed it's really not the best year to do it and I completely agree with her, but these opportunities don't come around very often. I felt like if I didn't take it I'd regret not doing it. I weighed up the options and it gives me an opportunity to get myself in front of a different audience and open other doors for me. I've got a son now so I need to think about financially making the most of situations." (express.co.uk, 26 Jan 2020; telegraph.co.uk, 06 Nov 2019)

POST-RIO BLUES
She struggled to return to training after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she had won two gold medals. "After Rio and reaching the pinnacle of my career and being incredibly successful and fulfilling my ultimate dream, it sadly didn't feel that great when I got home. About a month after Rio, I had really bad mental health issues and I kind of just felt really numb and that I didn't really have a purpose in life any more. Four years on to Tokyo seemed like a long way off." (bbc.co.uk, 25 Jun 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In December 2020 she was one of six athletes appointed to the British Paralympic Association [BPA] Athletes' Commission. The commission acts as an advisory group to the BPA to put across athletes' views on a wide range of issues. (britishathletics.org.uk, 11 Dec 2020)