Last week was an exciting week (27th-30th Aug) for two new members of the Great Britain Women's Wheelchair Basketball team. Fran Ray, aged 15 from Wolverhampton, and Maddie Thompson, aged 14 from Castleton in Derbyshire, were part of the squad that clinch
Maddy said: 'It will be great to be competing in London in front of home crowds and this will give us a big home advantage. It will be a huge boost, and is a big motivation.
'It has been great here at Stoke Mandeville, but the Paralympics will of course be bigger. It will be fantastic for us not to just have our families watching but all our friends as well.'
Fran plans to finish school soon, do a college course on sports science, then take a gap year in 2012 to concentrate on her basketball before university. She said: 'London 2012 will make all the training and hard work worthwhile. It’s amazing to think that the Paralympic Games in London are now less than three years away.'
Maddie also hopes to take a gap year in 2012 to perhaps play abroad to widen her experience.
Both hope to have long careers and love the sport. Winning bronze at the Championships will have been a big boost to their confidence.
Both are looking forward to the World Championships in Birmingham next year think London 2012 will be the pinnacle of their careers.
