A TEENAGER from Rhuddlan who was born with a birth defect was part of the Team GB which won a silver medal in her first senior wheelchair basketball tournament at just 18 years old.
Anastasia Blease was born with spina bifida, which is where a baby’s spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, and consequently reduces sensation and function in their legs.
But this month, she travelled to Rotterdam to take part in the 2023 European Championships, as Team GB’s only Welsh female representative.
And though the team finished runners-up, losing to the Netherlands in the final on August 18, a silver medal was enough for Team GB to qualify for next year’s Paralympics in Paris.
Anastasia did not feature in the final, but did play in Team GB’s semi-final victory against Germany on August 16.
Her proud family were watching on from home, with mum Kristal saying: “It’s always brilliant watching her. I was starstruck, definitely!
“It was her biggest competition to-date. We spoke to her every day; she had an absolute blast. We are incredibly proud.
“It was still a really good achievement, because you needed a gold or silver medal to qualify for the Paralympics, which is what they’ve done now.
“Anastasia will now be working extra hard for selection to the squad for the Paralympics in Paris 2024!”
While in Rotterdam, Anastasia discovered that she gained three “A” grades in her A-Levels.
As a result, she now has her place secured at Loughborough University on a sports scholarship to study medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.
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A member of Rhyl Raptors Wheelchair Sports Club since the age of eight, Anastasia has also played for North Wales Knights for the last five years, captaining their women’s team and junior squad.
She has won numerous British Championship titles with all three squads, including gold and silver medals in the last five seasons.
At the age of 14, Anastasia was selected to represent Team GB’s under-25s squad, travelling to France to compete in the European Championships, and returned home with a gold medal.
In 2021, British Wheelchair Basketball introduced the world’s first professional wheelchair basketball Women's Premier League; Anastasia was selected to play for Cardiff Met Archers for this first season.
The following season, Anastasia was selected to join Loughborough Lightning, who went on to become league champions are the start of this year; she will continue to play for this team next season.
Anastasia was also selected to represent and captain Wales in the first female wheelchair basketball team in the Commonwealth Games qualifiers in 2022.
She has represented Wales since she was nine years old, and was the youngest Welsh athlete to be selected at that age.
Meanwhile, her younger sister, Bethany, was part of the “Team Dreigiau Cymru” side which emerged victorious at the 2023 National Junior Championships for wheelchair basketball earlier this month.
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