At 13 years old, Layla Sharp is an athletics and swimming superstar
Born with a vision disability and peripheral blindness, Layla has never let her vision get in the way of pursuing her sporting dreams. She is incredibly driven and wants to wear green and gold to represent Australia at the next Commonwealth Games & Paralympic Games.
Currently in Year 8, Layla’s training involves four sessions a week focusing on running with her two coaches, in addition to her solo training on weekends which consists of bike riding and running. She is also using swimming as cross-training for her mid-distance running and is doing up to 1km of swimming in breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle.
Layla has an incredible list of achievements at such a young age, including the following:
• Breaking Australian (T12) Open Age record 3km
• Australian (T12) Open Age record holder in 1500m
• Australian (T12 under 20) record holder in 800m
• Australian (T12 under 18) record holder in 400m
• One of 3 chosen Captains for the NSW National team for Athletics in Darwin 2019
• State Level (S12) for Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke
• Sportsperson of the Year at Cambridge Park Primary for 2019
• ‘Peter Davis’ Outstanding award recipient for Sydney West 2019
• Para Athletics Champion, Para Swimming Champion, Para Cross Country Champion for Primary 2019
• Dux of Cambridge Park Public Primary 2019
On top of all of Layla’s sporting achievements, she wrote two fiction books in Year 6 and donated to school and teachers that were part of her primary educational journey. Isn’t that incredible?
For 2021 Layla has the Little Athletics State Championships, Junior NSW Athletics Championship and NSW Open Age Athletics plus swimming carnivals (pending COVID restrictions) and School Cross Country. Recently she competed in the Little Athletics Gala Day and came 1st in the 1500m and 2nd in the 3km, what a champion! She is certainly keeping busy.
We can’t wait to see what comes next for Layla, she is an incredible athlete who’s athletic career will only continue to grow exponentially.
To follow Layla’s amazing sporting journey, please check out her Facebook page here: Layla Sharp Athletics
Check out this message from Layla where she talks about what receiving a Variety Heart Scholarship has meant for her.
“A massive thank you to Variety for your full support in Layla’s athletic journey. Layla has received a scholarship from Variety since 2019, without them it would be so expensive for all the events that Layla does to achieve her goal of becoming a Paralympian.
As a result each time she sets records or wins she thanks Variety for all they do in achieving her dreams.
We love Variety, without Variety Layla would not be where she is today.”
– Sam Sharp, Layla’s Mum
Keep in touch
If you have any questions please contact our Kids Support team on 02 9819 1000 or [email protected]
There are a couple of other ways to stay up to date on all that is happening at Variety for kids and families, including finding out about the return of kids experiences such as the Variety Kids Xmas Party. We send a monthly newsletter to families with kids aged 0-18, that you are welcome to sign up for. You can also join our dedicated Facebook group.
Sign up here for our Variety families newsletter
Join the Variety families Facebook group
We love hearing the stories about the wonderful kids and families we support at Variety, and to share them with our Community. If you would like to share your story please click here.