THE FIRST thing you notice about Libby Clegg is not her disability but her incredible self-confidence. Then again, the 18-year-old, who is registered blind, has a lot to be proud of.
Earlier this year the former pupil of the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh collected a silver medal for the 100m event at the Paralympic Games in Beijing despite having injury problems. She has already started training for London 2012 – and this time
she is planning to bring home the gold.
Libby attributes her turnaround in fortunes – from a lonely girl with few friends to a confident young woman and top athlete – to the time she spent at the Royal Blind School.
In a sign of how far she has come, last week, she switched on the Christmas lights in Edinburgh and officially launched the Light Up Lives appeal to raise money for the work of the Royal Blind. The money raised by Light Up Lives, which has been chosen as The Scotsman's Christmas charity campaign, will go to help support the Royal Blind School, Braeside House residential home for older people and the Scottish Braille Press.
Richard Hellewell, Chief Executive of the Royal Blind said: "We are delighted that Libby is leading this campaign on our behalf. She is truly inspirational."
Libby, more than anyone, knows just how life-changing the services offered by the Royal Blind School can be. When she first arrived at the school in the Newington area of Edinburgh at the age of 12, Libby was still coming to terms with her deteriorating eyesight. She suffers from Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy, which has left her with only a patch of peripheral vision.
"I have got no central vision and no vision in my right eye," she says. "It is like being severely short-sighted. Everything is out of focus but I can use what little vision I have to get around."
Libby attended a mainstream primary school with sighted pupils but began to fall behind as her sight got worse. Her lack of sight was becoming more and more of a problem.
"I wasn't allowed to do PE and the maths teacher wouldn't have me in the class," she recalls. "I found it really difficult."
By the time she got to high school, she had very little social life. "I felt isolated – nobody wanted to go to town with me, nobody wanted to go to the cinema.
"If there was a party, they wouldn't invite me. By the end, the only two friends I had were a Jehovah's Witness and a girl who everyone said had nits."
When she was 12, Libby's family relocated from Cheshire to Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders so that Libby could attend the Royal Blind School.
"When I first came here, I thought my mum and dad were horrible," she admits. "I didn't want to come here – I felt I was with people that were more disabled than me.
"Things didn't begin well but then I got put into a really good class and we all got on well together.
"Because a couple of people had better vision than me, it made me feel a lot better. I started to come round to thinking there was something wrong."
For the first time in her life Libby began to feel she was somewhere she belonged.
"At the school, everybody is the same," she says. "If someone picks on you, they have got serious issues.
"No-one picks on anyone because of the way they look. People don't judge you as much and it gives you more confidence."
One of the reasons Libby's parents picked the Royal Blind School was because it has a good reputation for sport and soon Libby was given lots of support when she started training with Edinburgh City Athletics Club. The school helped make sure there was someone to run with her when she went on her training runs around Arthur's Seat.
At the World Championships at Assen in Holland in 2006, everyone finally started to realise just how good Libby Clegg could be.
"I wasn't expecting to make the semi-finals and I came second," Libby says. "In the 100m race, I was disqualified because Lincoln, my guide runner, crossed the line before me."
Retired sprinter Lincoln Asquith, who partners Libby in competitions, is expected to match her pace exactly. The two runners are attached by a guide rope which she grips in her hand.
"In the 100m and 200m you need to run in synch," Libby explains. "Every step you take, they should be matching that step. Their whole body needs to be in alignment."
And just because this is the Paralympics doesn't mean the competition can't be exceptionally tough. "You get people trying to psyche each other out or to put off the guide runners," Libby laughs.
As part of her training, Libby regularly sees a psychologist who gives her techniques for dealing with stress and to help her relax. Expert physio and nutritional advice also helps support her training programme.
After qualifying for the British team she trained hard – but when she reached Beijing she was also determined to have a good time.
"The Chinese treated us really well. Everything was really well-organised and the Olympic village was great – there were about 4000 people there. The stadium was amazing and I wasn't nervous. I expected to be shaking but I was really relaxed. I was determined to enjoy the experience."
Libby's mum and dad, her two younger brothers – Stephen (13) and James (15) and sister Felicity, 16 – were there to see her set a new British record with a time of 12.51 seconds.
Mum Moira says: "It was wonderful. There were 90,000 people there and to see her run in front of such a huge crowd was totally amazing.
"I was very very proud of her. I have been with her for the last nine years and I have seen all the hard work, the good days and the bad days. And to see her there it made it all worthwhile. She really deserved it."
Libby's next objective is to qualify for London 2012 – and there is no mistaking her ambition.
"My target is gold," she says bluntly. "I can't go back to get another silver."
Now she has finished school Libby is free to concentrate on her training, which is supported by the UK Athletic Fund paid for by the National Lottery.
But although she has left school, she still has a strong connection with the Royal Blind and is happy to help in any way she can.
Her two younger brothers are both pupils at the school and she keeps in touch with a couple of teachers she became close to.
"Being in a school like this makes you more understanding," she says. "I got on really well with people who are more disabled than me and I didn't mind helping any of them.
"Before I came here I wasn't aware of people with severe difficulties – a lot of people don't think they have personalities.
"But I shared a room with a girl who had severe difficulties and we had the best laugh ever."
When Libby revisits the school today, the corridors ring out with pupils and teachers calling her name. Everyone wants to congratulate her on her success and to celebrate her example of how determination and hard work can change lives.
Morag Meldrum, acting depute headteacher at the school, says Libby is a shining example of what the Royal Blind tries to achieve: "We are very proud of her. She is a very confident young woman and that is what we try to do here. It is all about helping our pupils take their place in the world."
The full article contains 1319 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
