Aldridge swimmer Tully Kearney's joy at sports personality nomination
Paralympic hopeful Tully Kearney has spoken of her delight at being shortlisted as a contender for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award following an incredible season.
Tully, from Aldridge, enjoyed incredible success at the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow this summer, taking home six medals including four golds.
Her gold in the S9 400m freestyle saw Tully set a new European record with a time of 4:39.29, more than 10 seconds ahead of the silver medallist.
She also set a European record in the S9 100m butterfly and the SM9 200m individual medley.
The 18-year-old, who has a scholarship to study physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: "It is a real honour for me to be shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award and I'm so excited about being able to go to Belfast for the event.
"Being recognised in this way is especially important for me as a para-athlete, as I am really passionate about raising the profile of para-sport so that it is seen on an equal footing as able-bodied sport."
She added: "I went to the IPC World Championships just wanting to swim best times.
"I never once imagined I'd be coming home with one gold, never mind four world titles, a silver and a bronze."
She is now training at the National Performance Centre for British Para Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, with her sights set on being selected to represent Great Britain at next year's Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
