My name is Bethan Lishman and I was born with partial hearing loss, which has deteriorated as I have grown older.i wear hearing aids and use little sign language.  I started throwing the hammer at the age of 8 when my twin and I began at our local athletics club and I fell in love with the sport. Since then I have trained and competed for Great Britain. There is no greater feeling than walking into a throwing circle and wearing your GB best knowing how hard how many sacrifices you’ve made along the way.

In recent 2014 I underwent spinal surgery where I had a huge rehabilitation programme to be back and now I am back fighting fit and ready to live my dream and bring back a medal for my country from the Deaflympics

Unlike other sports the Deaf team are not supported financially by the government so we have to fund everything ourselves. I have emptied bank savings, taken out bank loans and I’ve now resorted to selling my Great Britain kit that I’ve earned, just to try and get to the Deaflympics .

The Deaflympics are held every four years, and are the longest running multi-sport event excluding the Olympics themselves.The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were also the first ever international sporting event for athletes with a disability. The event has been held every four years since, apart from a break for World War II. The games began as a small gathering of 148 athletes from nine European nations competing in the International Silent Games in Paris. Since then the numbers have grown as deafness has become more and more recognisable and integration into society has become more.

I work full time because I train in Wigan with a specialist coach my wages are spent on training costs fuel etc.

It’s a lot, I know, but that’s how much I want to go, and how much I know I deserve to go. If you believe that too, then please contribute what you can to my Deafympics.

Bethan Lishman