Young athlete Katie Whitaker has been selected for the Great Britain team to take part in the 1999 Special Olympics.

But she desperately needs to raise £2,000 to get to the games in North Carolina in the USA next June.

Katie, 20, has been picked for the powerlifting team. She is already a British champion and lives with her parents, Christine and Clifford Houston, in Alder Avenue, Long Lee, Keighley.

Katie, who has Down's Syndrome, took up the sport five years ago and since then has won a host of medals.

Last year she walked off with four gold medals at the National Special Olympics in Portsmouth, beating off competition from over 2,000 athletes.

A member of the Bradford Sport and Recreation Association for the Disabled, Katie attends the Wednesday Leisure Group at Keighley Leisure Centre.

She has also been training on a Sunday morning at Armley Jail in Leeds under the guidance of prison officers and prisoners. Her mum Christine says Katie is not worried by the surroundings in which she trains.

"They have all been helpful," she said. "I don't think she realises why people are there. She just treats them as friends and training partners."

The Craven College student - she is doing a course in independent living skills - recently entered a mainstream competition in Newcastle and came away with the gold medal.

Katie also plays ten-pin bowling and swims the backstroke.

Katie's efforts have already been recognised locally. Keighley Area Panel co-ordinator Patrick Lawton said: "We are always looking to support young people and we are pleased to help."

Lesley Ord, of Keighley Business Forum, says the Forum's investment in the Wednesday Leisure Group has proved to be a success. "She has put Keighley on the international map and we are all very proud of her," she added.

Businessman and Keighley Cougars chairman Howard Carter says his company - sportswear manufacturer Cartasport - and the Cougars will try to help where possible.

All money raised will go towards the cost of training, team get-togethers and kit.

Anyone who would like to make a donation should send it to Councillor Barry Thorne at BSRAPD, Shipley Town Hall, or ring (01274) 757093.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.