We are delighted that Pauline is part of our BRIT Ambassador family to support and improve young adult mental health and fitness throughout the UK.
Pauline represented Great Britain at the Paralympics and World Championships between 1998 and 2004, winning silver in the Women’s Javelin F37 event at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney and silver in the Women’s Javelin F35-F38 event at the IPC World Championships in France.
“Having experienced mental health challenges myself, I am delighted to be joining the BRIT Ambassador family to support young adult mental health in the UK. The COVID-19 pandemic has affecting our lives in many different ways and feelings of isolation and loneliness have been commonplace. It is so important that we support each other and ensure that young adults with existing mental health challenges, or those who feel isolated and vulnerable, receive help when they need it and know where to find it.
The British Inspiration Trust (BRIT) are determined to support young adults throughout the UK and have spent time visiting universities and colleges in Scotland to understand the issues affecting our students and young adults. I am also thrilled that University of St Andrews will be hosting the BRIT Steering Group in Scotland and inviting representatives from every Scottish university and college to join the Steering Group. Together they will be encouraging team participation in the annual BRIT Challenge, exploring how to encourage more students and staff of all abilities to take part and using the BRIT Challenge as a feelgood February fundraiser and catalyst to destigmatise mental health.
As a former Paralympic athlete, I believe every young adult and student should have the opportunity to participate in team challenges and events; this ensures they are able to grow in confidence and are valued and treated as equals. I am thrilled that the BRIT Challenge has been designed to be inclusive and enables students and staff of all abilities to take part by hand-cycling, cycling, wheelchair pushing, swimming, walking, jogging, running, rowing or paddling (canoeing, kayaking or paddle-boarding). I hope every Scottish university, college, specialist college and Students’ Union enters teams in the BRIT Challenge and encourages their students and staff to take part at home or on campus.
I urge my fellow Scottish Paralympians, Olympians and elite athletes to join our BRIT Ambassador family so young adults and students at every Scottish university and college are inspired to take part in the BRIT Challenge. At a time when we all need inspiration, BRIT Ambassadors have an opportunity to unite in support of young adult mental health and have an extraordinary impact that will benefit the lives of hundreds of thousands of students and young adults throughout Scotland.
I look forward to supporting students and staff at the University of Edinburgh, Fife College and Carnegie College as they take on their BRIT Challenge.”
Pauline Latto
Paralympic and IPC Athletics World Championships medallist
Pauline attended Buckhaven High School in Fife and started her sporting career as a swimmer and then moved to table tennis, before settling into athletics.
Running changed to throwing and it was in the Javelin that Pauline found international success. Before she was selected to represent Great Britain, Pauline made her mark in Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and IPC (now known as the World Para Athletics Championships) Athletics World and European Championships.
Pauline was a beneficiary of the Scottish Institute of Sport and the many services it offered to disability performance athletes.
In 1998, Pauline won bronze at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Birmingham when she competed in the Women’s 400 metres T37 event. Pauline also competed in the Women’s 200 metres T37 event and came 5th.
Pauline was selected to represent Great Britain at the Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000, where she won silver in the Women’s Javelin F37 event.
In 2002, Pauline won silver in the Women’s Javelin F35-38 event at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France.
She also represented Great Britain at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece where she reached the Final Round in the Women’s Javelin F35 – 38 event.
For more information about CPISRA, please visit their website.
For more information about the World Para Athletics Championships, please visit their website.
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