Hereford's Royal National College principal hopes Paralympics will break down barriers (From Hereford Times)

Hereford's Royal National College principal hopes Paralympics will break down barriers

4:00pm Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in Sport

ROYAL National College for the Blind principal Sheila Tallon hopes that the Paralympics will be good for the country’s sporting credibility and raise awareness of disability.

“Just like the Olympics, the Paralympics is not just about medals and scores,”

said Tallon.

“I think they will be an amazing inspiring antidote for disability ignorance. It celebrates people pushing their bodies to the limit - it’s about hard work through dedication and sacrifice and that’s a universal quality to all athletes and this includes their coaches.”

One of those coaches, Tony Larkin, has been putting the finishing touches to his GB Blind Football squad’s training regime at their Royal National College base as they prepare for the biggest tournament of their career.

Ex-Hereford United skipper Larkin believes the preparations have gone excellently and the team are ready for their first game against Spain. He said: “We are really looking forward to it, preparations have been going well and we will take each game one at a time.

“Spain have always managed to beat us in major competitions but the guys are now looking to put that right, and I feel that the time is right for that first win.”