My Journey

In 2005 when Zac was just 10 he noticed he couldn’t read the whiteboard from the back of the classroom. Following this he went to an opticians where he was prescribed some low strength reading glasses. As time went on Zac began to realise he could no longer read books, and had to sit very close to the television to see it.

This was a difficult time in Zac’s life as he was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 11. When Zac was 13 he finally got diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a degenerative eye condition.

This condition affects Zac’s central vision & now he has the eyesight of a 90 year old. Despite this Zac endeavoured through and at the age of 18 he discovered sport.

In 2013 he started training casually as a sprinter twice a week, during the 2014 season he ran 11.80s over 100M & 24.08s over 200M. Zac won silver medals in both the 100M & 200M at the UK School Games, despite this success in his first year he had his sights set on bigger things.

Zac made a decision to work with a nutritionist, masseur and train 5 days a week with Peter Gifford in Grimsby doing some gruelling training over the winter. In 2015 Zac’s times got faster every single race & in June 2015 he did his first International competition in Berlin where he was classified as a T13 (visually impaired) Athlete. Following this in October he got his first call up to a Great Britain team at the World Championships in Doha, where he finished 6th in the 100M & 200M. Following this display UK Sport & British athletics put him on the WCP (World Class Programme).

In 2016 Zac had huge ambitions to go to the Paralympic Games in Rio. His season started off well after being injured in the winter with a shin injury. He ran a personal best at the time of 11.28 which earned him selection for the European Champions in Italy where he finished 7th in the 100M & 5th in the 200M. Unfortunately the selectors chose not to take Zac to the Paralympics, but as always he used this as motivation to bounce back.

In 2017 Zac shot up to 5th on the World Rankings with a personal best of 11.16s over 100M. This earned him selection to the World Championships in London where he finished 7th in the 100M & 200M. Zac also set another personal best on 22.73s over 200M in London. Zac was reclassified as a T12 which meant his vision had got slightly worse.

In 2018 it was a season full of mixed emotions. Competing at the Commonwealth Games he finished 6th over 100M. During the season running slower times than Zac was used to running he managed to use his mental strength and resilience to help his team to win a Gold in the relay at the European Championships. This was Zac’s first senior medal at a major championships.

Going into the 2019 season Zac has big ambitions as always, he has made many changes. One being moving to be coached by Leon Baptiste, former Commonwealth Gold medalist.