We’re very proud to announce that one of our tenants, Jo, has won gold in a ski competition.

On Sunday 12^th September, Jo was involved in a competition at The Brentwood Centre in Bromley. She competed as a part of the West Midlands Ski Group, of which she has been a part of for many years.

Despite having won not one, but two medals in the competition, Jo already is showing her winning mentality by being laser focused on the next competition.

She said: “I was really happy with my performance. It will be good practice for the World Games in 2023.”

Here, she will be representing the West Midlands in the Special Olympics World Winter Games, which will be available to watch on ESPN.

Like many things over the last 18 months, the Winter Games was postponed due to the pandemic, with it being pushed back to January 2023, having originally been scheduled for the previous year.

Taking place In Kazan, Russia, the games will see 2,000 athletes from over 100 nations gather to create acceptance and inclusion through sport, volunteerism, education and health.

This wasn’t Jo’s first successful competitive outing, having finished in the top 3 in the Nationals. The last national competition was in Switzerland, before the pandemic, whereby Jo was in the opening ceremony.

Jo delved into what first piqued her interest in the sport, with her mom booking a private lesson for the future champ at the Snowdome in Tamworth.

She was Instantly gripped by the setting, saying: “I loved the scenery. The scenery was fantastic- it was like the picture of a Christmas card.”

Eddie the Eagle was there as well, which did help massively in capturing Jo’s imagination.

As with any great athlete, Jo had some advice to inspire the next generation, saying anybody who is interested should: “train and go to competitions. If you do well, you can achieve like me. It’s a really good sport to join.”

Discussing the necessary grit and determination to improve in her sport, she spoke of her initial difficulties: “When I first joined the Special Olympics – a long time ago – I found it hard but I got used to it. I’m in the intermediates group now.”

Congrats Jo, and good luck for 2023. We know you’ll do us proud!