Hot on the heels of winning the 2024 Australian open and Bolton indoors ITF event, Andy Lapthorne is over in the States this weekend competing in the Louisiana playing in the quad division. Andy who has cerebral palsy has 17 grand slam titles in singles and doubles and won a silver medal at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics along with a silver and bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
The DSA have been following Andy’s progress with this latest win in the Australian Open with David Wagner, being this their 9th title coming exactly 10 years since winning their first title over there.
Andy is a lifelong Hammers fan, has been a Season Ticket holder for 16 years and sits in the West Stand attending as many matches as his busy schedule allows. Playing in America will mean he is following the West Ham v Burnley match via his internet connection and will also mean he will be unable to join us pitch side to talk about the importance of recognising the Level Playing Fields Unite for Action campaign. He said -
“As a match going fan with a disability that travels to both home and away, including the European games, I believe that it is vital that all sporting stadiums are fully accessible and are ready to be used by anyone, with any disability. I have personally seen the benefits of the progress that’s been made by the accessibility team working alongside the DSA, most recently the marked improvements in the gold top disabled car parking facility at Bridge 3, which has made it much easier to access and made life a lot easier for supporters in wheelchairs giving more room to get in and out of cars.”
“I look forward to working more closely with the DSB in the future and being an Ambassador for the Disabled Supporters Association, I wish them all the best for the event on Sunday. COYI’s!”
Members of the Disabled Supporters Board will be pitch side at the London Stadium, prior to this Sunday's game, with Liam Bird, from the Level Playing Field to talk about our DSA and the Unite for Access campaign - if you see us - give us a cheer!