A PARALYMPIAN who lives in Worcester has spoken of her delight at being picked to carry the Olympic Flame.

Mel Clarke, aged 29, of St John’s, will complete her stretch through the villages of Corse and Staunton, Gloucestershire, as the flame moves towards Worcester on Thursday.

Miss Clarke, a world champion archer, has used a wheelchair from the age of 11 because of problems with her hips.

She was inspired to take up archery 15 years ago after taking a Girl Guide group on an activity day and went on to become the first disabled archer in Europe to qualify for the able-bodied world championships in America, where she represented Great Britain. While there, Miss Clarke became seriously ill and was given hours to live.

She survived, but was left blind in her shooting eye and paralysed from the waist down.

Despite being told she would never shoot again, she won the world championships two years later. She has since won national, European and world titles, as well as a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

When not busy training, Miss Clarke frequently visits schools and other organisations as a local and national sports ambassador to share her inspirational story of triumph against all odds.

She is aiming for selection to represent Great Britain in the London 2012 Paralympics and could compete on her 30th birthday in September.

Miss Clarke said: “It’s very exciting. The GB team announcement is on Thursday so it’s going to be a busy day.

“As a squad, we went down to the Olympic Park and it really brought everything home. To see where we could be and to go on and compete there would be incredible.”