Shelly Woods is an elite British Paralympic athlete from the suburb of Layton in Blackpool, Lancashire.
Career
Shelly started using a wheelchair at the age of 11 after a heavy fall which injured her spinal cord. Shelly also holds the women"s course record for the Reading Half Marathon, set in 2004 at 66 minutes 37 seconds. Having originally been awarded silver for coming second on 8 September, a controversial protest arising from a multiple collision (six athletes crashed) in the final straight led to the race being re-staged four days later.
She came 6th in the 1500m, 8th in the 5000m and came 3rd in the heats of the 800m but failed to qualify for the final.
Achievements
As a wheelchair athlete, she has achieved considerable success having won the Great North Run in 2005, setting a new British record for the half-marathon in the process. Shelly is also the national record holder over 5,000 metres and won silver medals in her very first London Marathon in 2005 and again in 2006.She played in the marathon. On 22 April 2007, Shelly won the London Marathon Women"s wheelchair race for the first time in a record time of 1:50:41.
Representing Team Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, Woods won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres wheelchair final at the second time of asking.
Shelly later won a silver medal in the 1500m, finishing very strongly to beat Switzerland"s Edith Hunkeler at the line, and came fourth in the marathon. Shelly also represented Team Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London where she won a silver medal in the women"s marathon.
Woods competed in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and finished sixth in the 1500m before going on to three fifth places finishes at the IPC European Championships in Swansea. In September, Woods clocked a half marathon personal best (5034) to win the BUPA Great North Run.
