About Hannah Cockroft
Hannah Lucy Cockroft (born 30 July 1992) is a British wheelchair racer, specialising in sprint distances in the T34 classification, and a TV presenter. She holds the world records for the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres and 1500 metres in her classification and the Paralympic records at 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 800 metres. Competing for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, she won two gold medals. She won three further gold medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. == Early years == Cockroft was born on 30 July 1992 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. She had two cardiac arrests after birth which left her with permanent damage in numerous areas of her brain, resulting in weak hips, deformed feet and legs and mobility problems and affecting the fine motor skills in her hands. She is able to walk short distances but uses a wheelchair for long distances. === Introduction to wheelchair racing === After being turned away from sport throughout her primary education, Cockroft competed at secondary school in swimming, seated discus and wheelchair basketball. As a result of a silver medal performance in the seated discus at the UK School Games, she attended a British Paralympic Association talent day at Loughborough University in October 2007. Here, she was given her first opportunity to try an elite racing wheelchair by Dr Ian Thompson, husband of former wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.