Robert Hansford

Since the age of 11, Rob has been suffering from a rare form of colitis which changed into ulcerative colitis when he was 17. Throughout his young years he has shown courage and determination to get through his illness, despite having to be homebound a lot of the time. Unfortunately in November last year, Rob was so ill that he had to have his colon removed. Since November he has had three major operations over the space of six months but never once complained. Being his mum, I am so proud of how he has handled the whole situation of having to try and turn his life around. He's not a quitter; he's always smiling and everyone loves Rob because of his wonderful personality and sheer guts. His love of sport has always played an important part of his life: watching F1, playing football, training as a coach to teach young children to play football, training as a referee and most of all, canoeing has been a focus for him throughout his illness, as well as running and gym. Last year through his illness he even managed to canoe 72 miles of 125 miles in a Devizes to Westminster race, despite having to pull out because of injury. I believe that Rob would be so very proud to have the honour of carrying the London 2012 Olympic Flame and it would be a momentous occasion for someone who is now 21, who can look to a new future and be a part of such an historic event.