Ben Rowlings rolling to further glories

The wheelchair racer from Telford bagged gold in both his events when competing at the Warwick University track alongside 240 of the country's finest athletes.

The two-day championships, organised by the English Federation of Disability Sport, are among the highlights of the disability sports calendar.

Teenager Rowlings, who recently broke into Team GB, clocked 30.4 seconds in the 200m and 3min 55.1secs in the 1500m to burnish an already glowing record.

The 19-year-old, currently ranked second in the world at 800m, fifth at 200m and 400m and eighth at 100m, was thrilled.

He said: "Events like this have meant everything to me and given me aspirations and the ability to express myself.

"I'm still learning, but I hope to medal at the World games in Doha later this year and I hope to be part of the team at the Paralympics in Rio next year."

He added: "When people are first starting out there are so many different challenges you have to come through, just to get to start racing and in order to reach something like a Nationals.

"Sport for disabled people is growing and growing, and organisations like EFDS are a big part of that – helping people to get going."

Many elite disabled athletes began their own success at this prestigious event, backed by Typhoo, including Hannah Cockroft, Shelly Woods, Aled Davies and Hollie Arnold.

Rowlings' sporting journey actually began in the swimming pool, but an allergy to chlorine took him to the track.

He said: "I left swimming aged 15, then my athletics coach, Job King, took me to an athletics talent identification day, and since then I've just got better and better."

The improvement on the track is the result of serious dedication, culminating in a current regime of three training sessions a day, six days a week.

And Rowlings, who trains at Coventry Godiva Harriers. reckons that level of commitment is vital if he is to achieve his goal of winning medals for his country.

He said: "I have improved simply through sheer hard work. When I first started wheelchair racing I was rubbish, barely able to complete 100m.

"But the sport just had that something a little bit different – it was exciting as it was all about going really, really quick, as close to the ground as is humanly possible.

"Wheelchair racing is not something that anyone is naturally gifted at, as it's so different to any other sport. You just have to keep at it."

He also heaps praise on the volunteers who support the events and the sponsors who make it easier for him to commit to sport as a career.

He said: "Sponsorship is huge. Without my sponsors I'd have no chance of developing, no chance of being able to train.

"Having a big company like Typhoo sponsoring this event at the weekend just allows a lot more scope and a lot more opportunities to expand the event, to get more people in.

"And without volunteers there wouldn't be competitions or events to go to. They are a huge part of any competition – go to any event worldwide and volunteers will be there.

"Without them, it wouldn't work. They are the mesh holding everything together."

Barry Horne, chief executive of EFDS said: "What an event this year's championships have been.

"This year's Typhoo nationals certainly saw some brilliant performances from some very talented young athletes, but it was the sheer joy of participation that will be a lasting memory."

he Typhoo programme was designed with EFDS to make sure more disabled athletes have access to participation opportunities under the 'Sports for All' banner.

The weekend marked the third time Typhoo has backed the charity's work after sponsoring the Typhoo Sports for All project in 2009 and 2010.