London 2012 Paralympic gold medal winner and associate member of the Rotary Club of Marlow Bridge, Naomi Riches MBE is preparing to embark on her latest and toughest challenge – The Great Thames Row.
She is aiming to set a new world record as the fastest woman to row the length of the River Thames solo – 165 miles non-stop from Lechlade to Gravesend Royal Pier – to raise funds for IN-vision, a charity supporting Nystagmus, one of the eye conditions which Naomi suffers from.
Along with notable support from the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave, Lawrence Dellaglio and The Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, fellow club members will be on hand to cheer Naomi on as she rows through Marlow.
At school, Naomi was bullied for being different and was known as ‘the blind girl’. She became patron of IN-vision after her gold medal triumph in the mixed coxed four.
Naomi commented: “More than anything else in my life I wanted to be known as Naomi Riches and not be defined by my disability. I want to be known for what I am able to do, not what I cannot do.”
Nystagmus affects about one in 1,000 people and is the most common form of visual impairment in children. It makes focussing difficult, particularly on moving objects as eye movements become involuntary.
For Naomi, The Great Thames Row is not just about that personal sense of achievement, it is about encouraging people to celebrate ability over disability.
Malcolm Knight, the current world record holder who completed the course in 43 hours, 40 minutes and 56 seconds back in April 2005 had plenty of words of encouragement: It’s wonderful to see Naomi take up the challenge, I wish her all the very best of luck, I’ll be out there cheering her on. I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of the row I just hope that everything goes her way on the day and Mother Nature signs up as part of Team TGTR!”
Published: Friday 16th September 2016
This week is the second Rotary Good News Week. Over the next five days, we’ll be celebrating five special stories from Rotary clubs and members from across Great Britain and Ireland.
To follow Rotary Good News Week, keep your eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages and use the hashtag #RotaryGoodNewsWeek to share your stories.
Read our other Good News Stories from this week below:
- Serving Up Support For Paralympian Alfie
- A Dam Good Project
- Newbury Canal Trips Continue Serving Community
- An Epic Fundraising Road Trip – The Arctic Challenge
Naomi has now completed The Great Thames Row in a record time for a female rower – check out our updated story!
