Fundraising appeal to get young Bognor amputee to the Australian Tae Kwon-Do Championships

A seven-year-old Tae Kwon-Do enthusiast from Bognor has not let being an amputee stop him from winning several gold medals – and now he dreams of taking his winning streak to Australia.
Carter Carrington from BognorCarter Carrington from Bognor
Carter Carrington from Bognor

Carter Carrington, who had his left foot and ankle amputated when he was a baby, has been invited to represent Great Britain at the Australian Tae Kwon-Do Championships in Brisbane next summer.

His father Marlon said: “He’s over the moon about it, he really wants it to happen.”

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To raise the funds in order to make the dream trip a reality, Marlon has launched an online fundraising page.

He wrote: “Unfortunately no government funding is available for this but I don’t want him to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Therefore, I am working as hard as I can to save enough money to take him but if a few people could spare as little as £1 each it will help to get us there and would be so greatly appreciated.”

The page has already amassed more than £1,200 in donations. “It’s just crazy,” Marlon said.

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Carter was born with a condition called fibular hemimelia which meant he was missing the fibular bone in his left leg. As a result, doctors made the decision to amputate his foot at the age of 11 months.

Carter has been doing the sport since he was four and a halfCarter has been doing the sport since he was four and a half
Carter has been doing the sport since he was four and a half

When he was four-and-a-half years old, Carter, who wears a prosthetic leg, began taking Tae Kwon-Do lessons.

Marlon said: “Because he is an amputee, I wanted him to do it so he could protect himself against bullies.

“I was thinking ahead, I know how ruthless kids can be.

“I told him it was superhero training.

“He loves it, he really enjoys it. It’s just been fun for him.”

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Since starting the sport, the Rose Green Junior pupil has passed eight belt gradings and won gold medals at the regional, national and international Matt Fiddes Tae Kwon-Do Championships.

Marlon is hoping to be able to fly him out to Australia for around ten days in total.

Carter, a passionate Aston Villa fan, has hit the headlines before when, in September 2016, he was chosen to walk out onto the pitch with his favourite player Jack Grealish as a mascot for a match.

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The football player has shown his support for Carter once more by tweeting to his 242.5k followers the fundraising appeal, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/help-get-carter-to-australia