Lana Sutton lives with cerebral palsy and is hoping to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.
An athlete living in Sussex says she is aiming to qualify for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles (LA) despite being a newcomer to international sport.
Lana Sutton, who lives with cerebral palsy, had played rugby during university before switching to compete in athletics professionally.
The 27-year-old told the BBC she hopes to represent Ireland as her father is Irish.
She added qualifying for the LA Games would "mean everything to her".
Sutton said she had always wanted to compete in athletics, which prompted her to try to qualify for the Ireland Paralympics Team.
"I had the belief I would be able to go international," she said.
Sutton was then selected to represent Paralympics Ireland, and she competed at her first World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi in October 2025 where she reached the 100m and 200m finals.
She competes under the T38 classification which includes athletes with co-ordination impairments.
Cerebral palsy affects the left side of her body causing stiffness and balance issues.
The athlete says her condition makes holding the starting position in sprint races more difficult.
"I wear a splint, which has a metal bar that runs up my thumb and allows me to put weight on my left hand," Sutton explained.
"I don't have any muscle in my thumb so without it I won't be able to put my hand down."
Sutton says sport has been life-changing, adding it has helped improve her movement and strength.
"I think without sport, I wouldn't be anywhere near as strong and definitely not as happy as I am right now," she said.
Ms Sutton came to Brighton as a student and decided to settle in the city.
While working full-time, she also trains at Brighton & Hove Athletic Club several times a week.
Head sprint coach at the club, Dan Brooker, said "it would be incredible" if Sutton qualified for the 2028 Paralympic Games.
"When Lana first came [to our club] she was very quiet," he said.
"But we saw her speed from day one so we knew something good was going to happen."
Sutton is now training for the 400m race since there will be no 200m event in her classification at the LA Games.
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