Deaf athlete Honor Morton heads to European Deaf Youth Games with twin sister's support
Eighteen-year-old Honor Morton and her twin sister Gretta are raising funds for travel and kit costs after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed it cannot provide high-performance funding outside of Olympic and Paralympic structures.
Honor Morton, an 18-year-old deaf runner from Askam-in-Furness, Cumbria, is set to represent Team GB at the inaugural European Deaf Youth Games in Germany this August. Morton qualified for the event two years ago by meeting the required performance standard, a milestone she described as a significant relief after a successful competitive season.
The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport has stated it cannot provide additional high-performance funding to athletes outside of existing Olympic and Paralympic support structures. However, the department confirmed it allocates £1.2m annually for grassroots deaf sports activities. A spokesperson noted that the Minister for Sport recently met with UK Deaflympics to discuss raising the profile of deaf sport, though no immediate changes to high-performance funding policy were indicated.
Consequently, Morton and her twin sister, Gretta, are fundraising to cover travel, accommodation, kit, and food costs. The twins have always competed together, with Gretta, a sprinter, supporting Honor, who competes in distances from 800m to 10km. Gretta has acted as a crucial advocate, instructing coaches to use hand signals, repeat instructions, and ensure Honor can see lip patterns to maintain inclusion and communication during training and competition.
Morton highlighted the specific challenges of deaf athletics, noting she cannot hear the starting gun or the breathing patterns of other athletes, which are often used to gauge pace and body language. She relies on her coach tapping her shoulder when the race begins. Despite these disadvantages, Morton credited her sister’s practical support for facilitating her athletic career, describing the experience as "one of the proudest moments" of her life.
While acknowledging the historical decision by deaf athletes to separate from the Paralympic Games to establish their own distinct identity, Morton expressed a desire for future integration. She stated that many deaf athletes her age wish to return to the Paralympics to celebrate all disabilities together, reflecting a shift in perspective within the younger generation of competitors.
Coach Ian Jones described the twins as "two of the most dedicated athletes you could ever meet". Morton remains focused on her upcoming competition, driven by the desire to succeed despite the financial and logistical hurdles she must overcome independently of state funding.
