ABU DHABI // For Sema Faulkner, crossing the finish line with her nine-year-old son Oliver will be a proud moment.
When he was two, Oliver was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Doctors said he might never walk unaided.
Now, he is hoping to become an inspiration to others in the UAE who have disabilities to take up sports.
On March 4, Oliver will become the first child with a disability to participate in the Abu Dhabi ITU World Triathlon series. He will take part in the aquathlon, a 200-metre swim and a 1.5-kilometre run held on the Abu Dhabi Corniche Breakwater.
“They used to call him a ‘frequent faller’. After a couple of steps he would just fall over,” said Ms Faulkner. “We are quite stubborn, so we thought, if there is a way to try to get him walking, then we will find it.”
The Faulkners are firm believers that sports can help any child’s physical development, and provide social and emotional well-being.
“Oliver now moves around like any other child,” said Ms Faulkner. “Potentially, I think that when given the right tools, any child with challenges can develop, but just at a different rate. I don’t think anyone should just give up on a child.”
When the Faulkners moved to Abu Dhabi four years ago, Oliver’s younger brother and friends were starting extra-curricular activities and he wanted to join in.
“Unfortunately, there were just no sports clubs that would support him,” Ms Faulkner said.
His school, the British School Al Khubairat, recently introduced more inclusive sports clubs for all abilities, rather than having squads only for the most physically gifted students.
This term Oliver enjoys the swim-run club or playing cricket before heading home. At weekends, he joins other children with special educational needs at Try Rugby, which Ms Faulkner set up last November with the support of Abu Dhabi Harlequins Rugby Club, where she coaches.
Oliver was inspired to take part in the ITU triathlon after completing a junior aquathlon through Gulf Sports at Emirates Palace last month.
"It was like Chariots of Fire," said Oliver, recalling the feeling of reaching the finish line. "When I get to sixth form, and there's a younger child with special needs, I hope I can encourage them to do sports, because I know how good it feels."
Oliver will be one of 76 children taking part in the ITU’s Junior aquathlon, and 40 children are also taking part in the tiny triathlon.
Talal Al Hashemi, director of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council sports technical department, who helped bring the ITU triathlon to the capital, encourages other children with disabilities to get involved.
“We believe triathlon is shaping up as a highly inclusive sport and anyone who visits any of the triathlon training sessions in the UAE will come to acknowledge that,” he said.
“The many thousands who are now taking up triathlon don’t have winning as their ultimate goals. They often have personal fitness, health and mental endurance goals, all of which we support. Worldwide participation grew by 10 per cent last year as more people took up their personal triathlon challenge.”
For Ms Faulkner, the fact that Oliver is now able to take part in the triathlon is a step in the right direction. There is a shortage of team activities available primarily for children with special needs, she said, though she hopes that with more awareness other sporting bodies will begin to support them.
“Whatever their needs, children should be able to have a go at any of these events in the UAE.”
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