Zac Shaw

Zachary "Zac" Shaw (born 24 September 1995) is a British visually impaired sprinter who competes in the T12 and T13 disability classifications. At the age of nine he became afflicted with stargardt disease. In 2013 he started training for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2014 Shaw won silver in both 100 metres and 200 metres at the UK School Games. In 2015 he made his international debut in the Berlin IPC Grand Prix where he won bronze.

Zac Shaw
Personal information
Birth nameZachary Shaw
Nickname(s)"Zac"
NationalityBritish
Born (1995-09-24) 24 September 1995
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
EducationOasis Academy Wintringham
Alma materSheffield Hallam University
Years active2015-present
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Weight70 kg (150 lb)[1]
Websitewww.zacshaw.co.uk
Sport
Country GBR
SportAthletics
DisabilityVisual impairment
Disability classT12, T13

Later that year he made his first Great Britain squad for the IPC Athletics World Championships, where he finished sixth in both the 100 metres and 200 metres. Shaw won more gold medals in various events and later participated in the World Para Athletics Championships in London. He will compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia's Gold Coast.

Personal history

Shaw was born in the Lincolnshire town of Grimsby on 24 September 1995.[2] He is the youngest of six boys and his family is involved in the business industry.[1] At the age of nine Shaw started to become afflicted with stargardt disease, an inherited condition that affects his central vision, that went undiagnosed until he was 13.[3] Shaw had his secondary education at Oasis Academy Wintringham and The Grimsby Institute.[4][5] He went to Sheffield Hallam University[6] and later Loughborough University after receiving a sports scholarship in 2016.[7] Outside of para-athletics, Shaw works as a model.[7]

Biography

He began training for a planned entry for the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2013 when he joined Cleethorpes Athletic Club.[6] Shaw was placed in the T12 and T13 disability classifications for those with visual impairments.[4] The following year, he began these efforts by winning the silver medal in both the 100 and 200 metres events at the 2014 UK School Games. In 2015 Shaw debuted on the international Paralympics scene by competing in the Berlin IPC Grand Prix where he won the bronze medal.[8]

Later that year he made the Great Britain squad for the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha after qualifying with a time of 11.32 seconds at the CAU Inter-County Championships at Bedford International Athletic Stadium,[1][9] placing sixth overall in the 100 metres (T13) with an 11.33 seconds effort which at the time was his personal best in the discipline,[8][10] and finishing sixth in the final of the 200 metres (T13) with a time of 22.88 seconds, another personal best.[11] Shaw trained for the World Championships by undertaking sessions in sand dunes at Cleethorpes Beach and focusing on his strengths.[6]

In 2016, Shaw won the gold medal in three events: the T13 200 metres at the Dubai IPC Grand Prix,[12] the 100 metres in the BUCS Outdoor Athletics Championships,[13] and in the same discipline at the Barcelona Kern Pharma – Sauleda.[14] He along with 48 other para-athletes were chosen to represent Great Britain at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Grosseto in June.[15] Shaw placed seventh in the 100 metres and came fifth in the 200 metres (both in the T13 classification).[7] In spite of these efforts, Shaw was told later in the year that he had not made the team for the Summer Paralympics. While Shaw spoke of his disappointment he said that it was "the start of a long journey."[16]

In March 2017, he won the 200 metres event at that year's Dubai IPC Grand Prix,[17] and retained his title in the 100 metres discipline in the BUCS Outdoor Athletics Championships held the following month.[13] Shaw competed in the London World Para Athletics Championships in July.[18] Although Shaw was targeting a medal[18] he came fourth in his semi-final for the 100 metres (T12) and his effort resulted in him failing to progress into the final.[19] Nevertheless, he narrowly won his heat in the 200 metres (T12) which advanced him into the semi-finals with a new personal best of 22.73 seconds[20][21] but failed to qualify for the final after placing second, behind Algeria's.Nasser Djamil.[22]

In December 2017, Shaw was announced as one of eighteen para-athletes that had been selected to represent England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games due to be held in Australia's Gold Coast.[23] He visited a Tenerife training camp in January 2018 to prepare to the Games.[24]

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References
  1. "My Journey". The Official Zac Shaw Website. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. "Living with an invisible disability: Zac Shaw". Royal National Institute of Blind People. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. "Cleethorpes AC's Zac Shaw targeting 2016 Paralympics". Grimsby Telegraph. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  4. Dannatt, Matt (8 August 2014). "Shaw targets national call with support from the area". Grimsby Telegraph.
  5. "Congratulations to former student Zac Shaw!". Oasis Academy Wintringham. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. "Doha 2015 Debutants – Men". UK Athletics. 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. "Zac Shaw – Athlete Bio". British Paralympics Association. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  8. "Zac Shaw sets new PB at IPC World Athletics Championships final". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  9. "Paralympic gold medallist Jonnie Peacock wins national 100m". Royston Crow. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. "Butterfield wins gold as Weir and Lyle strike silver". British Paralympic Association. 24 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. Whittington, Jessica (26 October 2015). "GB team co-captain wins T36 800m gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships". Athletics Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  12. "Hosts UAE claim five medals for second day in succession to reach double-digit territory at Fazza IPC Athletics Grand Prix – Dubai 2016" (Press release). Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Center. 20 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. Sargent, Nick (30 April 2017). "Reuben Arthur takes BUCS 100m: Records fall on day two of the BUCS Championships". Athletics Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. Etchells, Daniel (14 May 2016). "Britain perform strongly as four world records tumble at International Paralympic Meeting". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  15. "Eight current World Champions among 49 set for IPC European Championships". British Paralympic Association. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  16. "Zac Shaw misses out on Rio 2016 selection". The Official Zac Shaw Website. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  17. "Three world records fall at Dubai Grand Prix". OnTrack Magazine. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  18. Green, Trevor (25 July 2017). "Zac Shaw to take the positives from World Para Athletics Championships display". Grimsby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  19. "British gold rush at World Para Athletics Championships". English Federation of Disability Sport. 16 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  20. Davies, Gareth; Stone, Stuart (19 July 2017). "Samantha Kinghorn doubles her London 2017 medal tally with 400m bronze". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  21. Emons, Michael (19 July 2017). "2017 World Para-athletics Championships". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  22. "SPORT: Zac Shaw misses out on 200m final at World Paras". Lincs FM. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  23. Plummer, Matt (11 December 2017). "Bain picked to represent Team England at next year's Commonwealth Games". Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  24. Green, Trevor (11 December 2017). "I want to do Grimsby proud at the Commonwealth Games, says pace ace Zac Shaw". Grimsby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
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