Shropshire athlete Macey Hand has been shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at the Variety Disability Sports Awards 2026, following a series of successes on the track and in the long jump that have brought national attention to an athlete with strong roots in the county.
Macey, who competes for Wenlock Olympians Athletics Club based in Much Wenlock, will be among the sporting talents recognised at the awards ceremony at Soho Place in London on Monday 12 October. She is coached by Camilla Stewart.
Recent achievements
At this summer's England Athletics Age Group and Junior Para Championships in Bedford, Macey won her 200m race in a personal-best time of 28.28 seconds and recorded 4.56 metres in the long jump, with two further jumps of 4.54 metres despite swirling winds.
Her progress in para-athletics began after she received her T64 classification in May 2024. At the Activity Alliance Para Championships in Coventry, she won all three events in her category: the 100m, 200m and long jump.
Later that summer, she competed at the National School Games at Loughborough University, finishing fourth in the ambulant 100m final and winning relay gold. In 2025, she was invited to join the England Athletics Para Academy and competed in the 60m para race at the Keely Klassic in Birmingham, an event broadcast by the BBC.
At the National Activity Alliance Junior Para Championships, she won the under-16 100m, 200m and long jump in her category and received the Outstanding Female Award. Her achievements were celebrated by Oldbury Wells School in Bridgnorth in its summer journal.
The awards
Macey joins a Rising Star shortlist that includes fellow athletes Mel Woods and Maddie Down, gymnast Rosie Williams and Samantha Gough MBE, recognised for her achievements across rowing and blind football.
The wider Variety Disability Sports Awards celebrate emerging competitors and established champions, alongside the coaches, volunteers, schools and organisations creating more opportunities for disabled people to participate. This year's nominees include Paralympic champions Richard Whitehead MBE and Tully Kearney OBE.
The ceremony will be hosted by Dr Oscar Duke, best known as the resident doctor on BBC One's Morning Live.
Every child deserves the chance to play, compete and belong.
Laurence Guinness, CEO of Variety, the Children's Charity, said this. Funds raised through the event will support Variety's work with disabled and disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, providing specialist equipment, accessible transport and practical support.