Harrow student to represent country at Deaflympics

From: Harrow Times, UK - Jan 10, 2005

By James Brockett

A HARROW College student is turning his sporting dreams into reality in Australia this month by representing his country at the Deaflympics.

Ben Lampert, 19, from Wembley, has played football for Harrow Borough FC and is on loan at Fulham Deaf FC. He has never let his disability get in the way of the sport he loves, and will be competing for gold in the football competition alongside the finest deaf players in the world.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to it, we are improving as a team, and I'm confident we can win! The team is getting to know each other and that is helping, we are also working on improving our fitness and that is getting better as well. The aim is to win gold."

Midfielder Ben will be helped in the squad by the presence of Fulham teammates Nick Beese, Andrew Drury and Ayad Sarraf. The players had to cover the costs of their flights and accommodation themselves, but Harrow College lent a helping hand with a grant of 500. Ben has studied at the college for three years, with assistance from the Communication Support Unit, and has gained GCSEs in English and Maths as well as a BTEC National Diploma in Sport.

The GB team left for Melbourne on Boxing Day and will take on Ireland, Australia and Greece in the group stages of the tournament. It is the 20th time the Deaflympics have been held, with 3,500 athletes competing in 16 events.

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