Sabrina Fortune (born 25 May 1997) is a British Paralympic track and field athlete from Wales competing in category F20 throwing events. Fortune won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the shot put,[1] a gold medal at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, also in shot put, and a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in shot put. [2]
_(cropped).jpg) Fortune in 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 May 1997 Chester | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Wrexham, Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Wales, Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability | Intellectual impairment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | F20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Shot put Discus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Deeside Amateur Athletic Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ian Robinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic finals | 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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History
editFortune, who comes from Bryn-y-baal, Mold in north Wales, has speech dyspraxia which makes communication difficult for her.[3] Her condition resulted in a mild intellectual impairment.[3] She attended Argoed High School,[4] after which she studied hospitality management at Coleg Cambria in Wrexham.[3]
Athletics career
editFortune became inspired to take up athletics after watching her brother compete.[3] She joined a club at the age of eleven in 2008 and began competing at local meets.[1] In 2014, she travelled to São Paulo to take part in the Brazilian Paralympic School Games, winning gold in the F20 shot put.[1] That year she also took part in her first IPC Grand Prix, in Grosseto, Italy.[1] The following year Fortune was selected for the Great Britain team to compete at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, entering the shot put event. Her throw of 12.14m saw her finish just outside the medal positions in fourth place.[3]
In 2016, in the buildup the Rio Paralympics, Fortune travelled back to Grosseto, this time to compete in the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships. A distance of 12.14m saw her again finish fourth in the shot put.[3] Fortune's results saw her selected for Team GB at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, competing in the shot put. She competed in the final on 10 September throwing a personal best of 12.94 m to win the bronze medal, becoming the first Welsh athlete of the games to reach the podium.[5]
Fortune won the gold medal in shot put F20 at 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin, with a championship-record throw of 13.30 m.[6] Fortune won the gold medal in shot put F20 at 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, with a championship-record throw of 13.91m.[7]
In June 2021 she was among the first dozen athletes chosen for the UK athletics teams at the postponed 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.[8] She came fifth in the 2020 Paralympic F20 Shot Put, with a distance of 13.56m.[9]
At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships Sabrina won gold in the F20 shot put.[10]
In the lead up to the 2024 Summer ParalympicsSabrina broke her own world record in the F20 shot put, with a throw of 14.83m.[11]
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics, Sabrina won the gold medal in the F20 shot put, with another world record of 15.12m.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Sabrina Fortune". thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Cockroft and Fortune start GB gold rush in Paris". BBC. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Sabrina Fortune". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Wyn-Williams, Gareth (10 September 2016). "Flintshire shot putter wins Paralympic medal". North Wales Live. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Rio 2016 Paralympics: Sabrina Fortune wins first Welsh medal". BBC Sport. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Berlin 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships - Event Overview - Women's Shot Put F20". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "Fortune's focus secures dramatic maiden World title". UK Sports Association. Retrieved 5 November 2020.[dead link]
- ^ "British team for Paralympics starts to take shape". AthleticsWeekly.com. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "F20 results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Para Athletics World Championships: Sabrina Fortune retains T20 shot put title in Paris". BBC Sport. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Cuesta, Dianna (22 July 2024). "Sabrina Fortune Smashes Own World Record in Paris Warm-Up - Dai Sport". www.dai-sport.com. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Wales, The clubs where Welsh Paralympians were made | Sport (9 February 2024). "The clubs where Welsh Paralympians were made". Sport Wales. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
