'Tandem Twins' from Derry awarded £500 each from Mary Peters Trust

Chloe and Judith known as the ‘Tandem Twins’, are para triathletes that hail from Derry. Both visually impaired, the twins began training just four years ago and are firmly set on representing Ireland at the Paralympic Games in Paris next year.

The sporting sisters have been awarded a £500 bursary each by the Mary Peters Trust, as part of the organisation’s ongoing partnership with Hughes Insurance. The bursary programme, now in its third year, awards a total of ten athletes annually from across Northern Ireland.

Lady Mary Peters said: “We are delighted to continue to partner with Hughes Insurance to award ten exceptionally talented young athletes throughout 2023 with funding to help further their sporting careers.

“Both Chloe and Judith are exceptional athletes with a truly unique story. To have achieved such great success in just over four years is fantastic and to do it alongside your twin makes it even more incredible. I wish both girls the very best of luck in qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympics and I hope that their drive, determination, and success thus far can influence any young person in Northern Ireland with a disability to get involved in sport- they are truly role models.”

Judith and Chloe with their guides compete in the PTVI 3 classification and use a tandem to complete the bicycle section.

In preparation to qualify for Paris 2024, the 28-year-olds have been competing internationally with Chloe set to travel to the World Championship in Pontevedra this month, having recently competed in the Paris World Cup, placing second with her guide Catherine Sands in the World Series in Montreal this past July - their best result to date.

Chloe said: “The funding will be a big help for me as I prepare to travel to Pontevedra for the World Championship finals this month with my guide Catherine.

“Neither of us were very sporty in school, being visually impaired comes with many challenges, travel being the main one as we have to rely on public transport, lifts from friends and family or our own two feet so we never really got the opportunity to stay behind for after school clubs. It was at university where we both found our love for sport, when we both joined the rowing squad and the ladies rugby team.”

“We are both very lucky to have supportive family and friends, and neither of us let our albinism hold us back- I think the fact that both of us are on the same journey helps, competing against each other can be a difficult balance to strike between being competitive but also caring. Obviously, we race to win, but it’s also an opportunity to celebrate in each other’s successes- it is important to have one another’s back, as a fellow sportsperson and twin.”

Meanwhile, Judith recently flew to Mauritius with her guide Eimear Nichols for the 2023 Africa Triathlon Paratriathlon Cup, and is now gearing up to travel to the World Triathlon Para Cup Alhandra in Portugal in October.

Judith said: “We are delighted to receive the funding from Hughes Insurance and The Mary Peters Trust which will relieve the financial pressure of worrying about travel expenses when we each plan our race calendars.

“The big goal is Paris Paralympics, but we both need to qualify for that. Attending races internationally is a fantastic way for us to perfect our performances and gain really valuable experience in competing against athletes from all across the globe, so this funding will allow us to have a bit more freedom in the races that we choose, in the hope of an optimal race for maximum points.”

Emma Haughian, Marketing Manager at Hughes Insurance said: “It is a pleasure to continue to support the Mary Peters Trust for the third year running. Our bursary programme is a tremendous success and it’s wonderful to see the difference we have made to young people. Chloe and Judith are incredible, their success so far is a testament to the hard work and training that each of them puts in and it is so encouraging to see the fantastic sportsmanship that they have for one another both as sisters and opponents. I wish them both well in qualifying for Paris 2024 and I look forward to hearing more about their incredible journey.”

The Mary Peters Trust is the only province-wide organisation to provide support to young athletes from all recognised sports. Along with Hughes Insurance, it is also supported by Alchemy Technology Services.

The remaining bursary recipients will be announced throughout 2023. To keep up to date with the selection, follow @hughesinsuranceni on social media. For more information on Hughes Insurance visit hughesinsurance.co.uk and for more on the Mary Peters Trust, visit marypeterstrust.org