WILTSHIRE’S Polly Maton admitted that it was somewhat surreal to be tasked with trying to inspire young children to get involved with athletics just a few months after she made her Paralympic Games debut as a teenager.

Maton, who was born missing part of her right arm, came fifth in the T46 100m as well as seventh in the T47 long jump final at Rio 2016 and last week, the 17-year-old was one of two Paralympians paying a visit to Mossbourne Riverside Academy in Hackney.

The school is just a stone’s throw from London’s Olympic Stadium, the venue of this summer’s IAAF World Championships and World Para Athletics Championships, in which Urchfont’s Maton has ambitions of competing.

“It was an amazing time and it was really lovely to see the children,” said Maton, who is a sixth-form pupil at Dauntsey’s School.

“The school is literally about 500 metres from the stadium – you can see it from the windows, so hopefully they can start to feel a bit of the buzz surrounding London 2017 and it can inspire them to watch and compete, and hopefully join in with athletics and sport in general.

“I actually missed school to come and talk to this school, so I definitely still feel like one of the people who has been inspired.

“I hope that they get the general atmosphere but it’s a bit weird coming in to try and get them to join athletics because it doesn’t feel like that long ago that it was me.

“It is a bit weird and it’s definitely been a rollercoaster couple of years for me with how competitions have gone and how I’ve improved.

“It was a big shock for me to be selected (for Rio). They selected me mainly for experience, so to be able to go was truly overwhelming.

“I went to watch London 2012 as a fan and to watch it was just amazing, and really got me determined to try and do something similar in the future, but the idea of possibly going back there to compete is a dream come true.

“It will be tough to get selection but I’m going to work hard this year and hopefully it will pay off.”

Maton competes for Team Devizes (Moonrakers) Athletics Club and also trains at the University of Bath, and says that she has no plans to streamline into a single-discipline athlete.

“The speed for my 100m always helps me with my long jump and it’s quite nice to go between,” says Maton, who is in the midst of winter training.

“A couple of years ago, my long jump was predominantly my better event but it’s kind of switched a bit. It seems that one seems to improve quite a bit, and then the other.

“They’re not dissimilar and I enjoy them both for different reasons, so I’d love to keep them both going.”