Paralympic gold medallist Laura Sugar gives talk to Dame Bradbury’s Junior School pupils in Saffron Walden

Paralympic gold medallist Laura Sugar gave an inspirational talk to youngsters when she returned to the town she hails from.

The para-canoeist, who set a new Paralympic record as she successfully defended her women’s KL3 title at the Paris Games last summer, was a special guest at Dame Bradbury’s Junior School in Saffron Walden.

Sugar, 33, who was awarded an MBE in 2022, was born with a club foot and spoke about her disability and her journey to becoming a top-level athlete.

The school’s sports captains also benefited from a private training session with Sugar, during which they were encouraged to design and complete a programme of exercises to build strength and stamina.

“It was a pleasure to come back to Dame Bradbury’s. I am from Saffron Walden and used to work here at summer camps, so it was nice to see some familiar faces,” she said.

“The pupils were brilliant, they asked some great questions.

During our practical session, the children were bursting with energy and had some fantastic exercise ideas.”

The former student of Newport Free Grammar School - now Joyce Frankland Academy - competed at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio on the athletics track, coming fifth in both the T44 100m and 200m finals, before switching to para-canoe and winning gold at both the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics.

Sugar also played hockey before getting involved in Paralympic sport and represented Wales.