Episode 5 - Guests

Andrea Hardwick

Six-time Deaflympian Andrea Hardwick is an inspiring woman! Not only is she an athlete but she is also a busy working women and a single parent to her two children since the death of her husband, Stephen in 2004 from Motor Neurone Disease.

Andrea began her sporting career by competing in the swimming events at the 1981 Games in Koln, Germany at the age of just 14. She went on to win a Bronze medal at the 1985 Games in Los Angeles in the swimming relay but then decided to change sports! In the 1989 games in Christchurch, New Zealand, Andrea competed in the Badminton events and came home with three medals, a Gold, Silver and Bronze. She then went to Sofia, Bulgaria in 1993 where she won two silver medals but missed the 1997 Games in Denmark due to the birth of one of her children. She returned to competition in the 2001 Games in Rome, coming home with a bronze medal. She missed the 2005 Games in Melbourne due to the death of her husband but retuned at the Taipei games in 2009.

Andrea will be competing again this year in August 2010 for Great Britain in the European Deaf Badminton Championships in Bulgaria. For more information, see:

www.deafbadminton.org.uk

Andrea talks about her late husband, Stephen, who was also a talented sportsman and captain of the GB Mens Football team. It is a huge source of pride to Andrea that both she and Stephen carried the Union flag at the opening ceremonies of a Deaflympics - Stephen in 1985 in Los Angeles - and Andrea last year in Taipei. Andrea's experience was all the more emotional in that as Stephen died in 2004 he never saw her leading the GB team into the stadium.

Andrea shares her sporting memories with Julian and also takes the opportunity to make an important announcement.