A Barry woman who took up rowing after she was diagnosed with a nerve disease has secured an athletes' grant.
Rebekah Knight now rows for Wales, just four years after taking up the sport - and in the past two years, she's won races at the annual Home International Regatta.
Now the 32 year-old has secured a share of £20,000 from the Grassroots to Greatness programme, run by gym chain Snap Fitness.
Rebekah has become an advocate for adaptive rowing, helping fellow athletes with different impairments and encouraging more clubs to embrace accessibility.
She said: "Rowing is one of the most adaptive sports there is, there’s always a way to make it work no matter your ability. Being on the water gives me an incredible sense of freedom and I want more people to know that rowing can be for everyone."
Rebekah joined Snap Fitness' Barry branch in 2018 to manage her health following the birth of her son.
She had been diagnosed with a nerve disease while studying at university, suffering weakness below the knees and elbows, making everyday movement a challenge.
When ankle pain made her workouts difficult, a personal trainer suggested taking up rowing, which turned out to be a health breakthrough - and opened the door to competition.
This year, at the Home International Regatta in Eton, she won the new PR3 mixed double 2km and 500m sprints, having won the women's PR3 2km event at Stathclyde Park near Motherwell last year.
Rebekah, one of twelve athletes to secure a grassroots grant through the new initiative, said: "I was so excited to find out I’d been selected. Having the support of Snap Fitness means a lot and will help me cover equipment and training costs so I can keep progressing and competing."
Other winners in the inaugural Grassroots to Greatness scheme represent a wide range of sports such as athltics, mountaineering, para-rowing, karate, American football and ultra running.
But Snap Fitness chief executive Kevin Yates says the programme "is about more than financial support".
He added: "It’s about belief, visibility and opportunity. We wanted to do something meaningful for our communities; we wanted to give back, inspire and motivate and this is how Grassroots to Greatness was conceived."
"We are proud to back this incredibly inspiring group of athletes and over the next year we will share their stories, their highs, hopefully not too many lows and their journeys as they pursue their sporting dreams."
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