Paralympic champion and Dancing on Ice star relishing new role ahead of Olympics
Libby Clegg has been the spearhead of one of the great families of British para-sport but the double Paralympic champion is excited to be taking on a supporting brief in Paris this summer.
The 33-year-old called time on her running career after winning a fifth Paralympic medal in Tokyo before a switch to cycling where she became a world champion in 2022.
With her four-year-old son Edward starting school last September though, former Dancing on Ice star Clegg made the decision to bring down the curtain on her second sporting career – and has turned down overtures to complete a career triathlon by imitating brothers James and Stephen in taking up swimming.
Instead, she will be in Stratford this April to cheer on her siblings – both Paralympic medallists in their own right – at the trials for Paris, before heading to the French capital in the summer.
Clegg, 33, is the official ambassador of The Kennel Club Hero Dog Award ahead of Crufts 2024 (Beat Media/The Kennel Club)And after the stress that comes with competing at the highest level, not to mention the scheduling conflicts that make providing family support nigh on impossible while she herself was racing, there will be something relaxing about turning up at the futuristic pool at Paris La Défense Arena merely as a fan.
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“It will just be a really good experience to go and be sat in the stadium as part of the audience rather than panicking about whether I’ve got enough food,” said Clegg, speaking as the official ambassador of The Kennel Club Hero Dog Award ahead of Crufts 2024.
“It’s really difficult because the programmes usually clash. I didn’t get to watch Stephen in Tokyo and I didn’t get to watch James in London. In Rio I managed to watch one event of Stephen’s. It’s a bit rubbish and normally does clash so it will be nice to be able to go and support them.
“The trials are in a few weeks and Stephen’s definitely going to be (in Paris), something catastrophic would have to happen for him not to be there, so touch wood. He’s all ready to go and I’ll definitely go to watch him compete. James keeps his cards quite close to his chest, but he’ll go to trials in April as well. So we’ll see, I might get to watch both of them compete.”
(Matt Frost/ITV/REX)There is a parallel universe where Clegg might have joined her brothers in the pool, but despite an approach, she was quick to put that idea to bed.
She added: “I’m quite short, I’m 5ft4, I think I’d have to be taller to be a good swimmer. One of the coaches was trying to get me to do it because they wanted another blind female to do the relay. I said ‘no, I’m rubbish’. I’m done with all of that. Athletics is sociable, cycling is semi anti-social because you are on the back of a tandem. Swimming is completely anti-social, you just have your face in the water and don’t talk to anyone for two hours. I like to chat, I’m used to sprinting where it is 90% chat and 10% work.”
Having stepped away from competitive sport, Clegg is still keeping very busy, working part-time for a charity that helps raise awareness around visual impairment, while also serving in several ambassadorial roles.
Among them, Clegg is an award ambassador for The Kennel Club’s Hero Dog Award, which celebrates the unique relationships people have with their dogs. The award, supported by The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, celebrates the unique relationships people have with their dogs and the important role man’s best friend plays throughout our lives and in society.
Clegg has a better idea than most of just how a dog can change a life, with her Labrador Retriever cross Hatti having been a huge part of her life for the past decade.
Clegg explained: “My guide dog Hatti, she is now retired, but that was a really integral relationship and partnership I had with her. I’ve had her for ten years and it’s been a really important relationship.
“I initially didn’t think that having a guide dog would be something beneficial to me at the time. I was in a bit of denial at the time. I’m a very independent person and didn’t feel I needed a guide dog. But it was the best decision I have ever made. It made such a huge difference to my confidence.
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“I’ve had a really special relationship and bond with her so it’s been good to be part of these awards because I know how important these relationships are. It’s been good to hear about how the different partnerships work. It’s been really inspiring.”
Crufts, which celebrates dogs from all walks of life, takes place from 7-10 March at the NEC in Birmingham and tickets are available at crufts.org.uk
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