DISABLED Oswestry fitness instructor Charlie Humphrys has been selected as a Paralympic Torchbearer almost two years after breaking his back while skiing on Christmas Eve 2010.


Charlie, 22, was chosen to to carry the flame on its journey from Stoke Mandeville to London's Olympic Stadium and will be carrying the flame along with four other recent InstructAbility Graduates.
 

InstructAbility is a programme created by Aspire, the spinal injury charity, and YMCAfit to give unemployed disabled people the training, qualifications and experience to prepare them for work as fitness instructors, and the 24-hour relay will begin on August 28 from the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement.
 

From Stoke Mandeville the torch will travel overnight across Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and London, before arriving at the Olympic Stadium for the prestigious opening ceremony of the 14th Paralympic Games on August 29.
 

Charlie said: “I feel great about carrying the Paralympic torch as it shows simply that disabled people can be strong.
“I love sport and the previous years of my life before the accident had been full of tennis, competitive motocross racing and intense weight training.
“ i was inspired by other wheelchair users who gave me hope, they didn't see their disability as a barrier to normal life.
“I found out about InstructAbility and I did the course to enable me to work at a gym and basically have a little pride that I can still be proactive and not a pity case.”
 

Charlie is now a qualified fitness instructor, starting the second phase of the programme with a work placement to gain more industry experience.


He is also aiming to participate in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and hopes to inspire other young wheelchair users to be equal to everyone else in the work place.