On 2 September 2021, former A Level student Dame Sarah Storey DBE surpassed British Swimmer Mike Kenny’s 16 Paralympic gold medal record to become Great Britain’s most successful Paralympic athlete of all time after securing her 17th Paralympic gold medal when she won the women’s road race C4-5 event.
Sarah studied A-levels, including: PE, English Language and Literature and French at Marple Sixth Form College from 1994-96. To her credit, and with the college’s support, she successfully juggled her intensive training and competitive events with her academic studies, never missing an assignment deadline, no matter where in the world she was competing. She received her A-level results when she was representing Britain at the Paralympics in Atlanta in 1996, where she picked up three gold medals.
Sarah told us: “When I realised my A Level exams would take place in the same summer as the Atlanta Games, I was worried something would be compromised but, thanks to the support and understanding of the college, nothing was, and I went onto study Sports Science at Leeds Met after winning three gold medals. It was a dream come true and I’m even more grateful to have had the educational opportunities I did as a teenager, because now I’m a full-time athlete, I may need my academic results to fall back on in my life after sport. Marple Sixth Form College will always remain a prominent place to me and I can’t thank them enough for their continued support”.
Sarah’s Race to the Top
- In the Rio 2016 Paralympics Storey became Britain’s most successful female Paralympian when she won the C5 3000m individual pursuit final.
- She became the first athlete to win the gold medal for Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Paralympics when she defended her Paralympic title in the women’s individual pursuit C5 event.
- On 2 September 2021, Storey surpassed British Swimmer Mike Kenny’s 16 Paralympic gold medal record to become Great Britain’s most successful Paralympic athlete of all time after securing her 17th Paralympic gold medal when she won the women’s road race C4-5 event.