Lothersdale is a tiny village near the Yorkshire Dales with an estimated population of 540 people. It contains a church, chapel, school, pub, post office and a small primary school. It is also the home village of two-time Paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown.
Born in Skipton, Brown grew up in Lothersdale playing a variety of sports both inside and outside of school. As a teenager she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome which leaves her with chronic pain in her feet.
Despite this she found out on the school bus that archery could be adapted. At the age of 15 Brown first travelled to her local club and three years later she was on Team GB. The first and only elite level sporting athlete to come from Lothersdale.
Geographical Debate
Across the UK 177 different towns and cities have produced gold medallists since 2000. In this time 53% of gold-winning towns have won only one gold medal, indicating not every champion is born in a big city.
Danielle wants to spread this positive message: “I just think being able to share my story with young people and say, ‘if you have a dream, you can achieve it.’”
Similarly, Hannah Cockroft, who is a three-time gold medallist, came from Halifax and as a small town where she was forced to travel into Leeds to make her wheelchair racing dream a reality.
“Halifax just didn’t have the facilities I needed to get involved being a little town,” Cockcroft said.
Cockcroft also voiced the importance of geographical diversity, “it is really important that the medals and championships are completely spread around so it shows it doesn’t matter where you come from.”
Unsurprisingly 14% of gold medallists have come from various areas within London who have the facilities. Other hotbeds include Manchester and Leeds.
(Image Credit: Decathlon)
Brown stressed the importance of relatability in driving positive change in smaller cities and towns.
“If you only hear about things from that area [London] it doesn’t necessarily reflect you as a person.”
Susannah Rodgers who won gold in the 50m butterfly at the 2016 Rio Paralympics also believes voices are key in having a wider range of gold medallists across the UK. The barriers, however, come from what sports it is as well.
Rodgers stated that this is dictated by the IPC/IOC at an international level, “they select the sports which take part in the Games, some of which are only affordable and accessible to a certain demographic.”
The knock-on effect therefore affects participation, “they are moving towards sports which appeal to younger viewers and wider demographics now. I fear they are driven by revenue sometimes over participation,” Rodgers claimed.
A sport which falls outside this category in terms of a wide demographic is canoeing where Etienne Stott won gold at London 2012, a sport he invested time into due to it being unique and different.
“Lots of the other Olympic sports are really cool sports as well.
“I think it's really empowering that people realise there is other ways of being active and other sports that you can do,” Stott said.
Participation Impacts
Following any given Games, the immediate aftermath brings positive impacts for all towns and cities. Especially after London 2012, showing what the correct voice can do across all UK towns and cities.
Cockroft had around 3000 people come to welcome her home to Halifax bringing huge levels of engagement to her sport.
“I will always remember going back to Leeds Athletics club [after London 2012] and there were 20 new wheelchair racers whizzing around the track keeping our sport going,” said Cockroft.
Stott who also won a gold at London 2012 had a building at his old school named after him along with a White-Water course in Bedford.
Stott stated: “These are the things that leave a long-lasting legacy.”
Nevertheless, this was nearly a decade ago and there is a new generation now who require fresh voices and with Covid it has become more difficult across multiple sports. Rodgers since Rio 2016 feels swimming participation has gone backwards due to the closing of leisure centres and facilities. “I feel disconnected from sport and leisure now I have retired. As if it has never really happened,” Rodgers said.
The Future
When she returned from Tokyo 2020 with her gold medal, Cockroft had no big homecoming understandably due to Covid. Sport is at a big crossroads and more work is required now more than ever to spread awareness.
The next generation could come from small village like Lothersdale and it is important to tell these stories which often don’t get told.
As Brown said: “If you have a dream, you can achieve it.”
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