Dancing on Ice star Libby Clegg has been impressing fans on the ice in this year's skating competition, alongside professional skating partner Mark Hanretty. Libby is no stranger to sports, and has carved out an incredible career for herself as a Paralympian, and has won silver at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and gold in Rio at the 2016 Paralympic Games. The professional sprinter has even been awarded an MBE for her contributions to athletics and charity. Fans have been particularly in awe of Libby because she hasn't let her deteriorating eyesight get in the way of her achievements.
Libby Clegg is competiting on Dancing on Ice
Is Libby Clegg blind?
The Paralympian is registered blind, and has Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy disease. Libby has described her eyesight as being "like looking at a pixelated computer screen or a scrunched-up firework" when talking to The Daily Mail. She added: "I have some peripheral sight - barely any - and with what little sight I do have I was able to use to follow the lines on the track." The star athlete wasn't born blind, however, started to lose her eyesight at the age of nine.
What is Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy disease?
Libby has Stargardt's Mascular Dystrophy disease, which is a deteriorating eye condition that has left the athlete with only slight peripheral vision in her left eye. There is no treatment for Stargardt, and eventually, the mother-of-one will lose her sight completely. Libby admitted that her future is full of uncertainties, saying: "I’m at the age where my sight should be stabilising but it’s still deteriorating. Things will never go black, but I don’t know yet exactly what I will be able to see."
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Libby winning gold
But that's certainly not stopping Libby from giving it her all on the rink. Speaking to The Radio Times, Libby explained her learning process, and added that she's relying on touch and verbal communication. The sports star said: "It’s been a learning process. On the track I run with a guide runner and we’re attached all the time, but basically it’s like learning a different vocabulary to communicate."
She continued: "Myself and my partner Mark Hanretty use touch and verbal communication. I’m not as bad as I thought I was going to be, but it’s not as easy as it looks. It’s a lot harder than I thought it’d be, it’s very technical."