FARNHILL figure skater Jenny Lee will set off this weekend to Austria to compete in the Special Olympics World Winter Games.

Jenny will be at the Bradford ice rink on Saturday for the official send-off as she prepares to represent Great Britain.

The 19-year-old is the first person from Yorkshire to represent her country in the winter part of the Special Olympics World Games.

She hopes to emulate the success of Keighley powerlifters James Crossley and Chris Woodhead who brought back seven medals from the World Games in Los Angeles last year.

In Austria, her programme includes two performances, one displaying different elements and moves and another that is being performed to Colours Of The Wind from the film Pocahontas.

Jenny has a learning disability and is hearing impaired, and is a member of Bradford Disability Sport & Leisure, which oversees the district’s participation in regional, national and international Special Olympics events.

Jenny’s mother Helena Lee said that in recent months her daughter had been training two or three times a week around her college work.

Just before Christmas she took part in Bradford Ice Skating Club’s Christmas show, Mary Poppins, and she is a member of Bradford Disability Sport.

Mrs Lee said: “During the interval, Jenny was able to display her programme she will be performing in Austria, which was well received by the audience. A lot of them didn’t know what the Special Olympics was about beforehand, and they were all really supportive.

“It also gave her the opportunity to get used to performing in front of an audience, and to have the ice to herself rather than having to swerve around other people.”

She also recently performed her programme during a gala event at Bradford Ice Arena to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Jenny recently travelled to the Sports Personality awards with her father, Adam Lee, representing the Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics World Winter Games are billed as the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event in 2017.

It will be held at three venues in the mountains Austria between March 14 and 25, and will involve 2700 athletes from 107 countries.

The competition sports include speed skating, figure skating, floor hockey, floorball, stick shooting, Alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country and snowshoeing.

International sports channel ESPN will be broadcasting stories and events from the games in Austria.

The Special Olympics, which involve people with learning disabilities, involve more than 30 sports in 169 countries.

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