A Fife teenager is celebrating after winning gold for Great Britain at the first Boccia World Youth Championships in Portugal.
Seventeen-year-old Tyler McLelland from Windygates, who was born with one of the UK’s worst cases of a rare disability called arthrogryposis, won a gold medal on Thursday after a tense finale in the pairs event in Povoa.
Tyler, who told The Courier he felt “sick” and was “shaking” with the drama of it all towards the end, said: “I’m so happy to have won a medal for my first time representing GB.
“It’s been a fantastic experience for me to be able to compete at an international level and for GB for the first time.”
How did the drama unfold?
Tyler, who was featured in last week’s Courier Weekend magazine, was drawn in a tough individual pool winning his first game 7-2 against a Hong Kong player.
However, he lost his second match 8-1 to a Portuguese player.
This meant he narrowly missed out on progressing to the semi-finals.
On Thursday, Tyler paired up with Sophie Newnham from England as the BC4 Pair where they had two matches against Portugal and Brazil.
In a tight first game they defeated Portugal 3-1.
The earlier result between Brazil and Portugal meant that the GB pair had to win the Brazil match to secure gold.
This proved to be another tight match with the GB pair 3-1 down going into the final end.
Tense finale
Sophie played a great first ball which the Brazilians were unable to move.
GB secured a second point which took the match to a deciding tie-break end.
After some good work from Sophie, GB were holding with Brazil finally securing possession with their last ball.
This left Tyler with three balls to secure the title.
The first two shots were close but not quite close enough.
After a big deep breath and all the pressure on his young shoulders he played the last ball and rolled in behind the jack.
This led to a tense measure from the experienced referee and head referee before they called it one to blue and a win for GB.
‘Felt sick and shaking’
Tyler said: “For the last ball, I had so much pressure on me I felt sick, and I was shaking.
“I knew if I didn’t score we were losing gold.
“I was very nervous. I did think that we had lost.
“I asked for the head ref as the ref on my court was going to put it to a double tie break.
“The head ref came and my nerves were all over the place.
“I felt so much pressure. It felt like an hour when the measure was being done.
“But in reality it was only a few minutes.
“When the ref called the one to blue it felt like the weight of everyone was lifted off my shoulders and I was hit with all different types of emotions.”
Emotional reaction from mum Emma
Tyler’s mum Emma, who joined him in Portugal, said: “It’s been an amazing experience to be with Tyler and support him in every possible way I could.
“That feeling when he is on court is unexplainable, emotions running all over the place.
“When he threw that last ball it took my nerves to a place they have never been before.
“During the measure I was struggling to breath.
“Once the ref declared the score I burst into tears. I was one proud mum.
“Seeing my son collect his first gold medal internationally is something I will never forget.”
What is boccia?
Boccia is a skills-based game similar to boules, as featured in The Courier.
However, it’s unique in so far as it’s a disabled-persons only sport.
Players must throw, roll or kick coloured balls as close as possible to a white target ball, known as the jack.
A test of muscle control, strategy and accuracy, players can compete as an individual, pairs or as a team of three over a set number of ends.
Each side has six balls (red or blue) each end to try and score points.
The future is in safe hands.
These three have just won gold at the World Youth Boccia Championships.
Take a bow Sophie Newnham, Tyler McLelland and Harrison Smith 👏 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kDv82Etxga
— Boccia UK (@BocciaUK) July 14, 2023
Points are accumulated over the course of a match to find a winner.
How does Tyler overcome challenges?
Tyler’s condition means the majority of his joints are locked together.
Yet despite these difficulties, and challenges he faced at school, the Fife teenager is a model of perseverance and focused determination.
Aided by an operation which allows him to bend his left elbow, he’s found salvation through sport.
The Fife College media and communications student, who wants to be a sports broadcaster, has dreams of becoming a Paralympian and world-class boccia player.
