Six-time Paralympic medallist Angela Hendra has won the Disability Sports NI Lifetime Award.
The sportswoman was honoured for her achievements at the 20th Anniversary Disability Sports NI Dinner and Awards on Thursday 18th October in Belfast.
Angela was born in Malin Head and moved to Derry at the age of 10.
Following the diagnosis of a tumour on her spine at the age of 12, Angela went on to spend 15 months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.
Angela developed a strong interest in sport and excelled in Table Tennis and Lawn Bowls, winning numerous medals at a National, European and World level.
Highlights of her long career include winning the Wheelchair Class of the World Table Tennis Championships in 1975 and winning bronze medals at the 1972 Paralympic Games in Heidelberg, the 1976 Games in Toronto, and the 1980 Paralympic Games in Arnhem.
Later specialising in Lawn Bowls, Angela went on to win bronze, silver and gold medals at the 1984 Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville.
She has dedicated her life to improving the position of people with disabilities in society after the end of her competitive career. She was also a founding member and former chair of Disability Sport NI.
She has since spent her life working in a voluntary capacity to improve the services and opportunities available to people with disabilities, particularly in the areas of health and sport.
All the while, she led a successful professional career as a Cytologist working in the City Hospital, Belfast for 43 years before retiring in 2009.
Angela was awarded an MBE in 1991 in recognition of her services to disability sport.
The Disability Sport NI Lifetime Achievement award was sponsored by John Preston Healthcare.
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