DANNY – #MyStory

Danny

About me

I am a para-athlete, living in Essex with my fiancée Lucy. I am a qualified Nursery Nurse and spend my days running around after 3 year olds. I was born with hydrocephalus, which is very similar to CP, leaving me partially paralysed down my left hand side. I take part in javelin in the F37 category, and I also play Saturday league football for an able-bodied team (which is very tough indeed!). In my spare time I have built a You Tube channel offering training tips to other disabled people (dan_hemihelpme). I am lucky enough to be sponsored by EA Sporting champions and I post exercise ideas and motivation every week on my Instagram @DanHemiHelpMe

Where it all began

I have been involved in sport since I was a young boy. I played CP football from an early age up until my adult years where I played for the West Midlands CP team and even played for England CP Development squad.

I started taking part in athletics at 11 years old and found I was quite good at it. As I got older and things got more competitive I trained harder and got better. I even represented England at the UK school games. Since then I have competed every year in CP Grand Prix’s all over the country. I won many titles and was a national record holder in javelin. In the last two years I have also competed with able bodied athletes in competitions with them. 

The impact on my life

I’ve grown up around sport. My mum is a sports coach and former athlete and my dad is a very good and fanatical cyclist. They guided me into sport and from a young age I got stuck in and loved it. As I got older and things got more competitive they helped push me to become the athlete I am today. Sport has helped me socialise, make friends and gave me challenges to show what I can overcome in life. Sport has helped me massively with my confidence and affects how I feel about myself in a positive way.

Training and competing

I train twice a week in the gym working on my strength in both my strong and CP side. I train twice a week (on the occasion 3 times) with my coach working on my throwing at the track.

In javelin competition I am a 2 x National Championship and former National Record Holder. I am currently ranked number 1 in the UK on Power of 10 and  5th on the IPC world ranking.

My ambition in sport is to become a Paralympian, it has always been my dream. I work so hard and I won’t stop till I get to where my goal is.  

My advice to others

My advice is to find a sport you like and try it for a while to see if you want to take part in it. Be proud of who you are and your disability, push yourself to be the best version of you. Never be scared to show other people what you can do in that particular sport and most of all… enjoy it, do a sport that can’t stop you from smiling. 

Danny is taking part in the Chelmsford half marathon for CP Sport in March 2022. Support his fundraiser here: Danny Berney is fundraising for Cerebral Palsy Sport (justgiving.com)