This week’s subject in the series on women Olympians is Jemma Morris.  In 2010, at the age of fifteen, Jemma  became the youngest archer to shoot for the GB Senior Paralympian team.  She goes in to this summer’s games as one ofBritain’s best hopes for a medal, and she’ll barely be seventeen.

When Jemma was quite young she was diagnosed with a disorder leading to muscle wastage and loss of touch sensation.  At the point when her younger brother, Iwan, began to show symptons, her father Damian asked Carmarthenshire council if there were any sporting pursuits the whole family could enjoy together.

The whole family became keen archers, with Jemma making her debut for the Welsh Junior team in the British Junior Indoor Championships in 2010, where she won a silver medal.  A few months after this, Jemma competed in the British Outdoor Championships where once again Jemma won a silver medal while shooting for the Welsh Junior team.

In the same year, Jemma was selected to shoot as part of the Great Britain Paralympian team.  She then went on to take part in the European Disabled Championships in France as part of the Great British team.

In her time, Jemma has set nine Welsh records in was awarded the Des Clarke memorial trophy for being the most promising junior archer in theUK.

Jemma’s success is incredible for someone so young and, whether she medals or not, this summer will be a wonderful expreience and she will no doubt be a regular feature of the British Paralympic team for many years to come.  Having said that, there’s no reason to believe that this young, prodigious talent can’t bring home the gold this summer.