Club members to cheer on Isaac Towers in Paralympic final

Team GB's Isaac Towers competing in the T34 800m heats.

The 17-year-old former AKS pupil finished fourth in his heat on his Paralympic debut on Tuesday, but made it through to today’s final as a fastest loser.

The Catterall-based teen finished in a time of 1.47.75, which was well outside his personal best of 1.44.67 which he set in Italy to be crowned European champion in June.

Club president Howard Henshaw was full of praise for Towers, and said he will be tuning in to see how he gets on in the final, which takes place at 9.50pm UK time.

“He is a very dedicated athlete and we are all very proud of him,” he said. “We could all see the potential in him from an early age.

“I’m sure everyone from the club will be cheering him on.”

If Towers is to go on and win a medal, he wouldn’t be the first former Blackpool Wyre and Fylde athlete to do so, with three-time Paralympic medallist Shelly Woods among the club's alumni.

In 2008, the St Annes wheelchair racer won Paralympic silver in the 1,500m and bronze in the 5,000m, before grabbing marathon bronze in London.

“We’ve had quite a few disabled athletes come from our club over the years with the likes of Shelly Woods,” Howard added.

“I’ll certainly be watching the final and I think Isaac’s got a very good chance of a medal.”