Freddie Palin is a member of Vale Tridents Junior Triathlon Club and PTS5 paratriathlete who has been involved in the sport since primary school.
Having seen the club advertised at their local leisure centre, Palin’s mum thought she’d see if getting involved was something that he’d be interested in doing.
“Freddie really liked riding his bike, was quite a good runner and he swims really well, and I just thought I wonder if he’d be interested in that,” she said. “I think he was Year 5 age when he started and, like most things, I think he was doing his first triathlon within about 10 days of starting.
“It’s probably the best way, just to throw yourself into it, so really and honestly, he had done very few training sessions before he just went and gave the triathlon a go.”
The challenge of bringing all three sports together is one of the things that attracted Palin to the sport, however, overcoming the challenge of the fourth discipline is what he has a love-hate relationship with.
“I think it’s about pushing yourself to see if you can do the three but, for Fred, weirdly, even though the transition is the hardest bit, that’s the bit that appeals the most,” mum, Hannah added.
“Can you go smoothly from one to the other and make the best of it, although that is ultimately the hardest bit as he’s only got one hand.”
To enable him to best compete, Palin has adaptations to allow him to ride on drop handlebars, with Palin having been involved in creating different handlebar adaptations and prosthetics during his time in the sport.
Having been involved with Vale Tridents for many years, Palin is now one of the older members of the club and supports younger athletes at the club.
“I don’t think a lot of those children see Fred’s disability,” Hannah commented. “It’s good because there are young people realising that somebody with a disability can do everything that they can do and sometimes better.
“I think with Fred, he has a willingness to try anything that encourages disability [participation], for example triathlon is embracing disability. Just go and talk to people, find out a bit more, because it’s only through conversation that you find out what’s going on in different sports.”
Reflecting on his participation in triathlon, Palin said: “it’s a fun way to prove that disability doesn’t slow you down.”
You can find out more about paratriathlon by visiting the British Triathlon website.
