By Graham Thomas
James Ledger has gone from someone who worried sport might not be for him, to an athlete aiming to be wearing a GB vest at the Paris Paralympics this summer.
The transformation for the 100m sprinter – who is visually impaired – has not been without hard work and the occasional road block, but he would recommend it to anyone.
“There was definitely a time in my life when I thought sport just wasn’t going to be something I could get involved with,” says James, from Morriston in Swansea, who was born with bilateral coloboma and nystagmus, conditions affecting his sight and eye movement which have left him with less than five per cent vision.
“It didn’t feel like there was a door open for me and I suppose I was a bit aimless.
“When I was younger, I didn’t really have any dreams or aspirations. I just tried to hide who I was and fit in. I played football because my friends played, but I didn’t even like football!
“One day, my father, who has been my biggest role model, said to me he didn’t want to watch me crawl into a hole. He wanted me to find something that made me happy.
“I was lucky I soon found athletics, an individual sport where I didn’t have to rely on others and I wouldn’t stand out for making mistakes. It was about me and my actions.”
James Ledger is in peak condition heading towards the Paralympics in Paris.
Now 30, James is Wales’ and Great Britain’s leading T11 Paralympic sprinter, the classification for athletes with visual impairments.
He is the current UK record holder, ranked No.6 in Europe and 14th in the world.
He combines competing around the world with his job as a qualified sports massage therapist, but is convinced sport has given him so much more than just races and medals.
“If I hadn’t found sport, then I wouldn’t have found peace of mind and an outlook that keeps me looking forward to things,” says James.
“Being registered blind provides plenty of challenges. For me, it has been around accepting who I am and my disability.
“Sport has helped me come to an understanding around those things, because sport is such a rollercoaster of emotions, highs and lows.
“I have frustrations every day. Something as simple as sitting back, putting my feet up and watching TV is not possible, without things like audio descriptions.
“Or, I have bent down to pick something up and whacked my head on a cupboard. That can be a very blunt reminder of what I’m unable to see or do and that can be very frustrating.
“The frustration can then spill over into my work at the track. I’ve got better over the years, but when I was younger and at university, it was hard. I would be in a lecture theatre and unable to see the boards or take notes, whilst everyone else around me was writing. That can make you feel very lonely and isolated.
“Those feelings have sometimes transferred over into other areas of my life and into my sport.
“I came to realise that when I’m at my best as a person, and as an athlete, is when I’m content. So, I try my hardest every single day to focus on the positives in life and I try to take that feeling with me to the track.”
James Ledger (right) with guide runner Greg Kelly.
The nature of sprinting as a T11 athlete has also taught James, a former student at Cardiff Met, the value of close collaboration and trust in others who are working towards the same goal.
T11 is the classification for sprinters with near-total visual impairment, so the athletes run with a blindfold, or blacked out glasses, with a sighted guide runner.
“Without the guide runner, who runs next to us on a tether, we wouldn’t be able to compete. It’s very much a team effort,” says James, who competed for Team Wales at both the 2018 Commonwealth games in Australia and the 2022 Birmingham Games.
“So, you have to find a guide sprinter who can run 100m in 10.7 seconds and then work with them to develop a rhythm and an understanding. That takes time.
“I’ve been working with a new guide runner, Greg Kelly, over the last few months and that understanding is coming on really well.
“It’s very much a complete mind, body and soul thing when you’re tethered to someone. It all has to come together and flow. But Greg is a great athlete with a fantastic attitude, so things are going well.”
VISION OVER SIGHT
Great to be a part of this small documentary directed by Blake Brown 🎥
Sport has and always will play a huge part in my life. The experiences I have faced have shaped me into the person and sportsperson I am today!
FULL Documentary https://t.co/T67K0M4YCw pic.twitter.com/RPhE7IRXaY
— James Ledger (@JamesLedger93) November 8, 2023
Outside of sport, James not only has his career as a massage therapist, but he is also involved in various charity groups and is an accomplished podcast host with the Disability Sport Wales Podcast.
“There is a lot going on in my life outside of sport, so I’ve got balance and enough things to keep me busy and focused after my athletics career is over,” he says.
“I am also a trustee of a charity, the Rocky Road Foundation, which raises awareness of mental health issues within sport.
“That’s something close to my heart. So, I’m really glad to be involved with that. It’s quite a small organisation at present, mainly involved in boxing gyms and rugby clubs in the Swansea area, but we are hoping to expand.
“It’s nice to sit on the other side of things and have input as an athlete on what things like workshops should look like.”
The Rocky Road Foundation was founded by former Welsh Olympic weightlifter Natash Perdue and grew out of her feelings of isolation after she had retired from her sport.
“I think there can be a problem after sport if you are not prepared for it,” adds James.
“For me, it’s all about communication and it’s easier if you get used to open communication while you’re still in sport. I have learned the power of story-telling and the podcasts are a form of that – the basic human need to get together and share stories about what’s going on your world and how you feel.”
Meet @JamesLedger93, who once thought sport wasn't for him.
Now, he's aiming to wear the GB vest at this summer's Paralympics! 🏃♂️
The transformation for the visually impaired 100m sprinter has not been without hard work, read more about his incredible journey 👇@DSW_News
— Sport Wales (@sportwales) May 18, 2024
In learning that approach, he credits the late Anthony Hughes – one of Wales’ greatest coaches – for his influence off as well as on the track.
“Anthony was the first person I had ever met – other than my parents – who really believed in me,” says James.
“He was one in a billion. He could always see the person first, then the athlete, rather than the disability. He made people see their own life like that, too.”
James believes his own story-telling is helping him and other current athletes he talks to, but hopes retirement as an athlete is still some way off as he bids for a place on the GB Paralympic squad for Paris.
“I have a training camp in Portugal and then I’m really excited for the season ahead. I want to become the first British T11 athlete to run 100m in under 11 seconds.
“If I can do that, there should be medals on the cards at the same time.”