Triathlon triumph for Farm Africa volunteer
14 May 2013
Farm Africa’s much loved volunteer Helen Whiteley – who is visually impaired - pulled off a remarkable achievement on Sunday when she came 19th in the women’s ‘Tri-a-Tri’, an annual triathlon held in East Grinstead in Sussex.
Helen’s triumph became an extraordinary family celebration when her twin sister Amanda, who is also visually impaired, came in close behind at 30th. Amanda volunteers at the children’s disability charity, Sparks.
The self-styled Yorkshire twins’ achievement was made all the more remarkable by the fact that they were the only disabled athletes in a field of 73 competitors. And until yesterday, the 46 year olds hadn’t even competed in a triathlon!
Helen and Amanda swam 250 metres, before cycling 11 kilometres on tandem bikes. Their triathlon triumph was sealed with a 3 kilometres run before they were swamped by their cheering fans at the end of the race.
Helen finished in 53 minutes and 7 seconds and Amanda followed close on her heels in 55 minutes and 6 seconds.
In order to compete with all the able-bodied athletes Helen and Amanda had to go to extraordinary lengths just to get to the start line. First they had to find tandem bikes that they could use on the day. And more challenging still, they then had to find ‘pilots’ to help steer the bikes while the twins pedalled "like mad". The pilots then became the twins’ eyes as they ran the final 3 kilometres linked arm in arm. Eric biked and ran for Amanda while Paul biked for Helen before Simon guided her through the run. The pilots all rose to the challenge and did an amazing job on the day.
It was a proud day for the Whiteley family with father Harry and mother Sybil travelling down from Leeds to Sussex to watch their daughters compete.
Between them the twins have raised the very healthy total of more than £2,000 for Farm Africa and Sparks with the promise of more donations still to come in.
You can show your support for Helen and Amanda’s incredible achievement by making a donation.
And you can read a feature article on the twins that appeared in the Yorkshire Post here.
