Hannah’s Paris plan: win medals then tie the knot

She jokes, “If he doesn’t bring home a medal I might not marry him.” And adds, “Whatever happens, our wedding will be a massive celebration and I'm not wishing my days away, but I can't wait.”

One thing is certain: all eyes will be on Hannah in Paris because the Halifax star has been a dominant force in wheelchair racing for the past decade. Her tally includes seven Paralympic golds, 16 World Championship titles and five world records.

As a ParalympicsGB member, Ellie has the backing of National Lottery funding which allows her to train full-time and have access to world-class coaches, facilities and medical support. When it comes to elite athletes, your ticket is their ticket to Paris.

Hannah and Nathan met for the first time in the aftermath of London 2012 when she had already won Paralympics gold. The pair met again ‘properly’ in the lead up to Rio 2016 when Nathan was a member of a relay team that included Hannah’s training partner, Richard Chiassaro.

Hannah says her husband-to-be loves putting her reflexes to the test. She said, “We're both incredibly competitive. Around the house everything is a race, but I always like to remind him that I have more medals in the cupboard.

“We’ll do silly things like who can get up and get a drink quickest from the kitchen or who can then drink that drink quickest.”

Hannah has been overcoming challenges for as long as she can remember. Shortly after she was born, she suffered two cardiac arrests which left her with brain damage. Her hips, legs and feet were weakened as a result, but that didn’t stop her dreaming big.

She said, “At three years old, I wanted to be a ballerina. Following that, a pop star along with an actress or princess.”

Hannah was in Year 8 when her PE teacher invited a local wheelchair basketball team to visit her school and give a demonstration. She said, “The rest is history really. Had my teacher not invited the team that day, I might never have found a pathway into wheelchair sports.”

Nathan, who won relay silver in Tokyo and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, is hoping he can hit new heights in Paris. And Hannah is confident he can fulfil his dream.

She said, “Nathan has not been in the sport for as long as I have so I definitely have experience over him. But over the last three years especially, he’s getting closer and closer to those medals that he really wants.”

It's going to be tough – they are such close races, anyone could come first or eighth, but that’s what makes it exciting. I know that if he makes the right decisions on the day, then he can definitely cross that line first.”

27th August 2024