Hannah Cockroft MBE is one of the UK’s best-known para-athletes and a popular inspirational speaker.
With seven World titles and five Paralympic gold medals, Hannah is the reigning World and Paralympic Champion.
Hannah won three gold medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and at the 2015 World Championships over 100 m, 400 m, and 800m.
She also won two gold medals in the 100m & 200m at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, and two gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Hannah also holds the T34 World Records for 100, 200, 400 and 800m.
The early years…
Within 48 hours of being born, Hannah Cockroft suffered two cardiac arrests. This resulted in damage to two areas of her brain, which left her with deformity to both legs and feet and weakened hips.
Doctors predicted that Hannah would rely on a wheelchair for the rest of her life and that she would not live beyond her teenage years.
Hannah started out wanting to be a ballerina, a police constable, an actor, a singer, and finally settled on anything ‘to be famous’!
In senior school, Hannah discovered a love of sport when an enthusiastic sports teacher introduced her to a local wheelchair basketball coach and, at 13, she started playing for a wheelchair basketball team.
Hannah joined the school’s disabled sports team, and that began her journey into athletics.
At 15, Hannah represented Yorkshire in both wheelchair basketball and seated discus.
After winning a silver medal in seated discus at the UK School Games, she was invited to a UK Athletics Talent ID Day at Loughborough University, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Motivational Speaker:
An accomplished motivational speaker with an inspiring story to tell, Hannah Cockroft regularly appears on TV and in the media.
Hannah is patron of five charities; she works closely with various disability groups and actively campaigns on disability issues.
