""It was fair to say I was quite a different person before boccia," she said. "It's increased my social confidence. "I was introverted before, it's helped me come out of my shell and it's almost like physio to keep my body moving. "With muscular dystrophy, they say if you don't use it, you lose it, so this has kept the intensity right for me.""
""If I go to the LA Paralympics, that would be a dream come true, there's a photo of me when I was 8 or 9 holding up a board saying I want to be a Paralympian.""
""I remember seeing her at a local boccia competition and we knew she'd be good. "She's really changed the game in the UK, bringing in shots with her left hand, using different strategies that we are all using," Saunders said. "I can't wait to see her fly, hopefully get to LA and show the world what she can do.""
Sophie Newnham, 18, from Surbiton, is the world number one in BC4 Female boccia. She was born with muscular dystrophy and began playing boccia at 14. Missing the 2024 Paris Paralympics by 11 days increased determination to aim for the 2028 LA Paralympics. Boccia provides physiotherapy-like benefits by maintaining muscle use and improving social confidence and outgoingness. Newnham studies accounting and finance at the University of Sussex and faces a potential schedule clash with the LA Paralympics in her final year. Louis Saunders, a 2020 Paralympian and training partner, credits Newnham with introducing left-hand shots and new strategic approaches in UK boccia.
Read at www.bbc.com
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