Last updated 06:42, Friday, 02 May 2008

A WEST Cumbrian woman who has overcome four knee operations, a growth in her hip and hearing problems is having to raise £5,000 in her bid to become the world’s number one deaf hammer thrower.

Bethan Lishman: Has overcome four knee operations and a growth in her hip

Bethan Lishman, 24, of High Brigham, near Cockermouth, has had health problems since she was born but that has not stopped her from being ranked as the number two hammer thrower in the world among deaf athletes.

She has also qualified to be part of the Great Britain team for the championships in September in Turkey.

But before she can get there she has to overcome another hurdle – finding £5,000 for the trip.

She is approaching sponsors and Bethan, 24, was at a Carlisle supermarket packing customers’ bags to raise money.

She said: “I need to raise money for the flights, the kit, training and facilities.”

Bethan was born with a hearing impairment and in the last five years she has had a number of injuries.

In 2003 she was a passenger in a horrific car crash which left her with two broken ribs and a smashed knee.

And for the last 18 months she has been out of the sport because she was diagnosed with a growth in her hip.

She added: “This prevented me sitting down properly. I was diagnosed with a bone island. It is a bone growth in the wrong place and it can’t be corrected. If it is too big it can be operated on. But it is not an operable size yet. I have been out of the games for 18 months and this is my first season back.”

Bethan, who is a leisure assistant at Workington Sport and Leisure Centre in Moorclose, said despite her health problems she is still determined to keep training.

She said: “It’s non-stop, one thing after another. It does get me down but I want a gold medal.”

This week, she is competing in Wigan in the Northern League competition, which if she wins could rank her as the world’s number one hammer thrower.

The world record stands at 45.46m. She has achieved 45.56m while training.

She said: “I should get the world record if I carry on the way I have been going.”

Being deaf can affect balance. The world record for the women’s hammer was set by Tatyana Lysenko who threw 78.61m in Sochi, Russia, in May 2007.

Her last big success at international level was a gold medal performance at the under-20 competition as part of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.

This year will be her first try at a world title, and if she does well she could have a place in the GB team to compete in the Taiwan Olympic Games next year.

She added: “The top three deaf hammer throwers in the world are from the UK.

“We will all be competing in the autumn so there is a chance we could come back with a gold, silver and bronze medal.”

So far she has received financial support from Workington firm Dobies, and a local couple.

If anyone wants to help Bethan, contact her on 07928 167547 or 01900 826866.