Walsall's Caitlin Leigh targeting Paralympic gold

The Walsall-based and University of Wolverhampton star, who has born with congenital glaucoma, is fighting her way into the history books having first fallen in love with the sport aged five.

And with London 2012 Paralympic bronze medallist and long-time inspiration Ben Quilter in her corner, the 19-year-old is summoning all her determination to achieve her dreams.

She said: “I saw Sam Ingram win his silver medal in London 2012 and that was my moment of ‘I’m going to take this seriously and this is what I want to do’.

“I’ve not met Sam since then but I met Ben Quilter on that day because he had won the bronze medal the day before and he’s now my coach.

“It’s a crazy circle that we’ve gone in. We were talking about how weird it is that I’ve gone from watching him be an athlete to him now sitting in my chair and supporting me whilst I compete.

“Long term I’m definitely looking to that Paralympic gold.

“I want to be the first female VI athlete to win a para judo medal for Great Britain.

“I’ve always told Ben that it will be me who does that, just wait.”

Leigh recently sparred her way to silver at the Nihon Dutch Open, competing in the -70kg age category and narrowly missing out on the title to fellow Brit Emily Betts.

But with success came injury and Leigh is currently undertaking rehabilitation after a shoulder injury picked up overseas, with the target of being back at international competitions in the new year.

“I’ve spent a lot of this year training and I recently went to Holland and won silver in the Dutch Open,” she added. “But I got injured from there so I’m currently in rehab, hoping to do more international events, as well as getting my black belt.”

When she’s not on the mat, Leigh is hitting all the right notes on stage. The budding singer has always found music as a way of escape and likens the art to judo in the sense that, once she starts, all her worries ebb away.

“I’ve always done music and it helps me get out of my own head,” she said. “Music and judo are very similar in that way. You don’t have to think about uni or anything.

“Being a para-athlete and having a visual impairment, I don’t really have to think about that when I do judo and music.

“I just get on with it compared to day-to-day life where I have a guide dog. I like how I can just be myself when doing both.”

n Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more