Dartford bowls star Michelle White's journey to England's Commonwealth Games squad leaves lasting impression on four-time Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox

It’s not every day a four-time Paralympic gold medallist says she’ll look out for your mum - but Michelle White is no ordinary matriarch.

The 47-year-old Dartford native only started playing bowls five years ago, but this summer will represent her country on England’s para bowls squad bound for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

White’s daughter Charlie, 24, works at Nuffield Health and, when dual-sport star Kadeena Cox - a gold medallist at Rio 2016 in the T38 400m and a triple gold-medal winner in cycling at Tokyo 2020 - paid a visit, the personal trainer relayed her mum’s incredible story.

“When she heard I was doing the Games she was like, ‘wow, that’s so cool - I’ll have to look out for her’,” said White.

“The way she overcame her multiple sclerosis and just cracks on, I admire anyone who just brushes it off and says yeah, it’s an illness but I can still do anything anyone else does.

“I’m very much like that. It’s never slowed me down or stopped me doing anything. I think, in a way, it’s probably given me more drive and ambition just to sort of see how far I can take it.”

Mum-of-two White was born into a family of avid tenpin bowlers, even competing at a youth bowling club with her brother.

She drifted away from the sport after having Charlie and son Kieran, 20, only to give para bowls a relatively recent try.

“And it’s kind of brought out this inner person I didn’t know existed, really,” she marvelled.

“I just love competing. And what started off as a distraction to get me out all of a sudden landed me at the Commonwealth Games this year. So, crazy time.”

White, who will compete in women’s pairs with Surrey’s Gill Platt, plays and trains at Crayford's VCD Bowls Club as well as Swale Indoor Bowls Club.

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