Leon Squire

Leon is my fifteen year old son, a keen and extremely skilful footballer from the age of zero and who currently plays for Lincoln City under 15s and for his school team since year 7. Leon is my local hero because not only is he a great right-winger and centre forward, he also runs the 200 metre race in 3 seconds more than the legendary Usain Bolt and is considered to be the fastest for his age group possibly in the whole of the UK . A super talented and promising athlete, he is also good at high jump. Musically talented like his mother, he also plays the violin, a great all rounder, a loving son, brother and friend to all. Two years ago Leon was diagnosed with a condition known as super-ventricular tachycardia, the main symptoms of which are a rapid heartbeat and dizziness. Having been admitted into hospital on two occasions to receive treatment, Leon now takes medication to regulate his heartbeat but feels this is no longer effective as his tachycardia often returns. This impacts on his sporting activities in a marked way as he has to leave the pitch of a football game and apply self treatment before rejoining the match. We are now considering ablation therapy although Leon is not so keen for this treatment to take place because he does not want to miss any of his games or training for that matter. That's how committed he is. He has borne this condition bravely and does not let it get him down. A cheerful and helpful son and pupil, he deserves to carry the Olympic flame.