Isaac Harvey, 16, who is wheelchair-bound, will carry the Olympic torch through Barking and Dagenham on Juy 22

Disabled Ilford teenager to carry the London 2012 Olympic flame

by Sukran Sahin, Reporter Saturday, June 2, 2012
3:00 PM

An adventurous Ilford teenager whose disability has not affected his academic success and love of extreme sports will carry the Olympic torch next month.

Isaac Harvey, 16, has been nominated to become an Olympic torchbearer by Clive Rosewell, his deputy headteacher at Seven Kings High School, Ley Street, Ilford.

Isaac, of Kingston Road, said: “I feel happy and grateful that I will get to carry the torch. It was a big surprise when I found out.

“It’s a way of being equal to everyone who has not got a disability.”

The teenager was born with limb/pelvic hypoplasia syndrome, which mean he has no arms and a weak pelvis and does most things with his feet.

Yet this has not stopped him from taking part in the Jack Petchey Foundation’s Pantathlon Challenge where he has been competing in wheelchair slalom, football, relays and races every year since he was 11-years-old.

The business and media student hopes to work in the video games industry.

Isaac’s mother, Isabel, 73, said: “He is very thrilled. It’s a privilege for me and my other children that he has been picked because it’s a privilege looking after him. He’s a brilliant boy.

“He’s a very caring, considerate, outgoing and cheerful boy. He works very hard and he’s an inspiration to others. He deserves to be noticed and to have that privilege.”

Isaac, who will carry the Olympic torch in Barking and Dagenham on July 22 – the same day it travels through Redbridge – is a regular at the ELHAP adventure playground in Roding Lane North, Woodford Bridge where he also volunteers, and abseils at Lambourne End outdoor centre.

Olympic organisers are looking at ways on how Isaac will carry the torch due to his condition.