Two local athletes who are part of the Special Olympics Great Britain (GB) movement, which provides transformational sporting opportunities for people with learning disabilities, are taking on the world-famous 26.2-mile TCS London Marathon.
Luka White (20), from Wokingham, and Lloyd Martin (22), from Camberley, are part of a 10-strong team of Special Olympics GB athletes running the TCS London Marathon on 26 April. Through this challenge, they are helping the Special Olympics GB movement raise funds to stage its National Summer Games later this year.
Lloyd set a Guinness World Record when he ran the TCS London Marathon in 2024 as the youngest male with Down Syndrome (II2) to complete a marathon. He set a further Guinness World Record in his category at half marathon distance in the 2024 AJ Bell Great North Run, and has since gone on to run additional marathons in New York and London.
Luka will be running his first TCS London Marathon alongside his mum, Dijana. His sporting journey began when his family attended their first parkrun at California Country Park eight years ago. Now, Luka participates in football, swimming, martial arts and skiing, and has completed more than 200 parkruns.
“In every single sport that Luka does, we see it having a positive impact on his development,” said Dijana. “We would never have imagined 10 years ago that Luka would be lining up at the start of the London Marathon. But sport has had such a positive impact on his life, making him more confident and helping him believe that he can take on new challenges.”
Both Luka and Lloyd warmed up for the TCS London Marathon by running the Olympic Park Series 10K in London last Saturday.
Special Olympics GB has not hosted its National Summer Games since 2017 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the event returns this summer in a new format, comprising eight single-sport national competitions and a seven-sport, five-day event in Birmingham at the end of August.
To support Luka and Lloyd in their TCS London Marathon challenge and help raise funds for Special Olympics GB’s National Summer Games, please click here.
