Melanie to carry torch

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Cardiff's Melanie Stephenson has been chosen as one of lucky ones to carry the Olympic torch for part of its journey from Olympia in Greece to the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

Melanie, who is one of the club's most loyal sprinters, coached by former international 400m runner Mark Thomas, is also diabetic and was nominated for the honour by Diabetes UK Cymru for her volunteering work.

Melanie will carry the torch for 300m between Worcester and Cardiff on May 25 next year and when she heard of her honour, was overjoyed. She said:

“Words cannot describe how excited I am. I remember I was on holiday in Tenerife when Diabetes UK rang me to say they were nominating me. Being a torchbearer will help me speak to more people about diabetes and about topics like having diabetes with sport.”

But juggling diabetes and a strict training regime has not been easy.

Melanie, who does between seven and 10 training sessions very week, began treating her diabetes with an insulin pump three years ago. The mobile phone-sized device constantly infuses fast-acting insulin into the body, instead of having injections.

She said: “It’s been really, really difficult if I’m honest. I had to take tablets and an awful lot of injections until I made the transition to the pump. I used to find because the insulin wasn’t working so well, even if I wasn’t doing long distance, I just felt so lethargic and thirsty all the time and have no concentration. I am doing a lot better on my insulin pump now.”

Dai Williams, National Director of Diabetes UK Cymru, said: “We nominated Melanie as an Olympic torchbearer to thank her for everything she has done as a Diabetes UK Cymru volunteer.

“She has given up her time to give talks to parents of children with the condition, volunteer at our events and talk to the media to help raise awareness and understanding of Type 1 diabetes.”