Meet the ‘Para Queen’ balancing staying in shape with studying

Great Britain’s Kare Adenegan tells Jacob Phillips how she is juggling life at university while still staying on course for the Tokyo Paralympics next year

Adenegan is working towards Tokyo (Getty Images)

Not many students have had as eventful a first year as Kare Adenegan.

While fellow freshers at the University of Warwick partied the night away, Adenegan was preparing for the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.

Weeks later, the wheelchair racer was on the start line going for global T34 100m gold and spending her free time between heats and finals preparing an essay on Plato’s stance on feminism.

Fast forward two terms and the 19-year-old Paralympian is writing her History and Politics assignments from home and working out on Zoom with the ‘Para Queens’, a group of Britain’s top disabled athletes including Ellie Simmonds, Alice Tai and Lauren Rowles.

A rollercoaster doesn’t do it justice and the ‘Para Queens’, with 28 Paralympic medals between them, have helped her deal with the disruption of a postponed Paralympic Games.

Adenegan explained: “I knew Lauren as she used to do wheelchair racing and we stayed in contact. She messaged me about her idea of getting some athletes to train together.

“I’m able to do gym sessions with people from wheelchair basketball, cycling, swimming, para-canoeing. I’ve been seeing athletes doing press ups in their wheelchairs.

“When we are in lockdown you’re not really seeing anyone. It’s really good to have people to train with as motivation.”

“I think this will bring the ParalympicsGB team closer together. You know of other Paralympians but when you train together, you really get to know those in different sports.

“The only time we see each other is for the Paralympic Games so it’s been nice to see people away from that.

“We’re all supporting each other as we’re all in the same boat. That’s the boost we all really need at the moment.

“I hope we will be able to keep in contact. We might still have opportunities to do a bit of virtual training.”

Adenegan is one of Great Britain's brightest talents (Getty Images)

Adenegan took silver in Dubai behind fellow Brit Hannah Cockroft as she secured a fifth consecutive world 100m title.

In 2018 Adenegan became the first athlete to break 17 seconds at the London Anniversary Games. She was just 17 when she crossed the line in 16.80 seconds.

Cockroft’s winning time in Dubai broke Adenegan’s world record by a hundredth of a second in 16.79 seconds and her determination to win back the world record is palpable.

“Records do get broken but it’s given me extra motivation for this year and next year,” she says.

“It was quite difficult in 2019 having a bit more expectation on me. In some ways it’s helped me to work hard and get the hunger to win again.”

Adenegan’s relationship with five-time Paralympic champion Cockroft has shifted from idol to fierce competitor over the years.

She was first inspired to take up athletics after watching Cockroft’s double gold medal-winning exploits at London 2012 but three years later, 14-year-old Adenegan ended Cockroft’s seven-year winning streak.

“Not a lot of people can say they’ve watched [their idol] on TV and are now racing against them” Adenegan explains.

“It has been really special. I’ve always been inspired by the success Hannah has had.”

The absence of the Tokyo Paralympics in the sporting schedule poses an obvious visibility problem for disability sport.

Adenegan is concerned that para-athletes won’t have the platform to become national heroes in the way predecessors like Cockroft did.

Adenegan said: “I think the UK needs to see all the amazing things athletes are doing. It makes training worthwhile when you think of the impact of the Paralympic Games on Great Britain.

“It’s important there’s more coverage of parasport and for people to see what we’re doing all year round.

“It’s great when we have events like the Anniversary Games that showcase some parasport in athletics but there’s still so many events that don’t get shown. We just need it out there for people to see.”