BBC Radio Leicester 
 
 A few weeks back now I was invited by LRS to attend a BBC Radio Leicester interview with a few fellow Go Gold athletes. The program was a youth sports special but focussed on how elite athletes cope with the struggles of balancing training and social life. 
 
 It was a great event, and was lovely to hear how fellow athletes also cope with the pressures of being an elite athlete. If you get a minute give it a listen and see what you think! (See Below) 
 
 More Information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02swv4h ||||| Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, 23, who has been in a wheelchair for four years since she slipped in a shower in 2011, won gold at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in the summer. 
 
 But tests by doctors have shown she has “conversion disorder”, which causes people to suffer from symptoms such as paralysis without any identifiable physical cause. 
 
 Ms Wilkinson-Burnett says she has been left “heartbroken” after being told by British Canoeing she no longer qualified under International Canoe Federation rules. 
 
 She found out shortly before she was due to compete in the Paracanoeing World Championships and said on her blog: “I should have been competing at the world championships, but following my declassification, this is clearly no longer happening. 
 
 “I thought that I’d be able to accept what has happened and watch my friends compete, but this has been one of the most heart-breaking times of my entire sporting career.” 
 
 Ms Wilkinson-Burnett, from Leicestershire, was an England under-21s hockey player before her accident at a summer school in the US in 2011. She says she has no feeling from the chest down. She began canoeing in September 2013 and was a medal prospect in Rio but was diagnosed with conversion disorder after extensive investigations at hospitals in Nottingham, Leicester and the US. Medics said the tests “strongly suggest” there is no underlying neurological abnormality to explain the weakness and numbness in her legs. 
 
 A spokeswoman for British Canoeing said: “Based on all the information we now have, we can confirm that unfortunately Charlotte’s disability would not be classifiable under the current paracanoe eligibility criteria set by the International Canoe Federation.” 
 
 She added: “We are extremely surprised and disappointed with this turn of events, which is a huge blow to Charlotte, who is a very talented and committed athlete, but it is vital that the integrity of the classification process is upheld to ensure it provides a level playing field for all athletes to participate.” 
 
 Dr Timothy Nicholson, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London said: “Anyone who understands the disorder will have mixed feelings about somebody being banned from competing.” ||||| "I have a very complex medical background and the new classification system introduced this year… is also complex": Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett. Photo: Twitter/charlottewilko1/media 
 
 A British Paralympian hopeful canoeist who has been in a wheelchair for four years has been told that she can no longer compete because her disability is psychological rather than physical. 
 
 British Canoeing found that 23-year-old Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, who claims she has had no feeling from the waist down since she slipped in the shower in 2011, is suffering from a condition called 'conversion disorder'. 
 
 I had worked so hard for it, overcome serious injury… I guess this just proves how quickly your dreams can fall apart 
 
 The rare syndrome causes people to suffer from neurological symptoms such as paralysis without an identifiable physical cause. 
 
 Devastating blow: Wilkinson-Burnett in action. Photo: Twitter/charlottewilko1/media 
 
 The patient does not wilfully make up their symptoms and usually believes there is still an underlying physical problem. 
 
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 Despite winning gold at the Canoe Sprint World Cup this summer, she has been told she will not be selected for the Paralympics on the grounds of doctors' diagnosis. 
 
 British Canoeing insists paracanoeists must have suffered a physical injury to qualify under International Canoe Federation rules. 
 
 Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett poses with the Rugby World Cup trophy. Photo: Facebook 
 
 Miss Wilkinson-Burnett said she had been left "heartbroken" by the news. 
 
 Writing on her blog, shortly before she was expected to compete at the Paracanoeing World Championships, she said: "This has been one of the most heart-breaking times of my entire sporting career. 
 
 "I had worked so hard for it, overcome serious injury… I guess this just proves how quickly your dreams can fall apart." 
 
 An investigation is underway to determine how she came to represent Britain at paracanoeing in the first place - and if her World Cup medal should be rescinded. 
 
 Miss Wilkinson-Burnett was an England U21 hockey player before her accident in Rhode Island in 2011. 
 
 She began canoeing in September 2013 and was considered a very strong prospect for a medal in Rio next year. 
 
 In a statement she said: "I have a very complex medical background and the new classification system introduced this year… is also complex. 
 
 "Only now that more detailed medical information has been provided to British Canoeing have they been able to establish that I don't fit the classification." 
 
 A University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust spokesman said yesterday: "Charlotte has been diagnosed with conversion disorder by three separate doctors, in three separate hospitals in both the US and the UK." 
 
 Yesterday I got to share the podium with two great fellow athletes @EdinaMueller07 and @alananichols21! Great racing! pic.twitter.com/je6NnfnGz2 — Charlotte Burnett (@charlottewilko1) May 25, 2015 
 
 The London Telegraph
– A British athlete who has had no feeling from the chest down for four years has been barred from competing in the Paralympics—because doctors say she should not be paralyzed. The strange case involves 23-year-old Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, who has been in a wheelchair since slipping in the shower in 2011, reports the Telegraph. The problem is that doctors can find no physical cause of her paralysis. Instead, they chalk it up to something called "conversion disorder," in which patients suffer symptoms such as a paralysis for reasons that are psychological instead of physical. Essentially, they're told, it's all in their head. Wilkinson-Burnett is a canoeist, and she won gold for Britain at the Canoe World Sprint this year and planned on competing in the Brazil Paralympics next year. But British Canoeing informed her just ahead of the Paracanoeing World Championships that she no longer qualifies as a para-athlete under international guidelines, reports the Independent. In fact, she may be stripped of her gold medal. Wilkinson-Burnett, who disputes her diagnosis, writes on her blog that she is "heartbroken." A doctor at King's College adds, “Anyone who understands the disorder will have mixed feelings about somebody being banned from competing.”