Melton wheelchair sports competition was 'amazing event'

The inaugural Hambo Throwdown, at the town’s The Panic Gym, on Pate Road, on Saturday, was a huge success with more than 25 entries.

it was fully inclusive with first-time entries able to line up alongside experienced competitors and featured four tough workouts spread across six hours of activity and four classes of competition.

The event was organised by the Matt Hampson Foundation – based at the Get Busy Living Centre at Burrough on the Hill – with Matt among the supporters on the day.

Matt, who created the foundation to support and inspire young people after life-changing injury, said: “It’s an amazing event.

"As we always say, this is a very special community.

“The Throwdown enables everyone to be part of a collaborative effort, to work very hard and also have that aspect of competition you want while bringing encouragement and community to it, helping each other out.

“Everybody is able to compete on a level playing field and participate in their own way.

“You can see as well how much it means to the competitors but also to their families and friends, their partners and kids too, which is great.”

Joe Clarke and Kylie Grimes came through as the men’s and women’s winners at the end of a very competitive and close-scoring day.

George Thompson, the foundation’s sports therapist and head of its Athlete Development Programme who led organisation of the inaugural event, said: “Competitive functional fitness has taken the world by storm over recent years but opportunities for the disability community have been lacking, often due to wider attitudes surrounding people with disabilities.

“There have been attempts to change this, though often aimed at the whole community which can leave some with more significant disabilities unable to compete and also to feel less welcome.

"But at the Matt Hampson Foundation we are determined to change these ideas and opportunities like the Hambo Throwdown provide a more level playing field."

On how the athletes competed on the day, George added: “It was very tight on the scores in the end and the feedback from competitors, whether they were trying this kind of event for the first time or have more experience, has been very positive.

“Thank you to everyone who took part, to those who helped out on the day, to our hosts at Panic Gym and to all of our supporters and sponsors.”

With sponsorship from HCC Solicitors, InBody and PAS Nutrition, and support from the foundation’s team of staff and volunteers, the Throwdown featured four tough workouts spread across six hours of activity and four classes of competition.

Full results from the 2024 Hambo Throwdown:

Men - 1 Joe Clarke, 2 Rob Davy, 3 Taylor Gough.

Women – 1 Kylie Grimes, 2 Sophie Wilson, 3 Olivia Langley.

ALL PHOTOs COURTESY OF: Alistair Langham/S17 Photography

Click HERE to find out more about the work of the Matt Hampson Foundation.