Schoolboy completes annual triathlons since age of eight to raise £46,000 for his cousin with rare chromosomal disorder

A 13-year-old boy who has completed a triathlon every year since he was eight to raise more than £46,000 for his 12-year-old cousin with a rare chromosomal disorder has said his annual obsession, for which he does no training, “feels amazing” and he cannot see himself ever stopping.

Shay O’Grady, who lives in Sheffield with his dad, Jason, 43, a van driver, mum, Emma, 42, a manager at a bingo centre, and two sisters, Caitlin, 21, and Beth, 26, has done five triathlons in five years since 2018 to raise money for Bluebell Wood – a children’s hospice in Sheffield often attended by his cousin, who has a rare chromosome deletion disorder.

After seeing Francis Benali, an English football coach and former player, tackle seven Ironman triathlons in seven days, Shay said he wanted to do something similar for his cousin “straight away”.

His dad thinks Shay’s main motivation is because he has “so much love for Eva” and fundraising gives them both “some common ground” despite them being “so different”.

Shay “just turns up on the day”,  without any training, and over time, he has completed longer triathlons over a shorter amount of time.

His first triathlon was 16 miles which he spread across a week, and his latest challenge consisted of swimming, walking and cycling from Sheffield Wednesday football ground to Barnsley FC’s Stadium, covering about 58 miles in two days.

Although Shay’s dad has said Shay “doesn’t do it for the praise or the recognition”, the support from their community has been “overwhelming” – both rival football teams in Sheffield have promoted Shay’s challenges.

Shay has recently been named a finalist in this year’s teenage category for the JustGiving awards, which he is really “excited” about and is looking forward to meeting the other nominees and hearing their “inspirational stories”.

Shay has his sights set on a 24-hour football match for his next challenge, and when he is older he hopes to complete an Ironman or marathon for his cousin.

Shay told PA Real Life: “I love fundraising for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice – it’s an amazing place that supports my cousin and her family.

“The latest challenge was my toughest one yet, but I was determined to do it and with help from my family and friends, I achieved it.

“I want to raise as much money for my cousin as possible, I can’t imagine stopping fundraising for her.”

When Shay was about eight he was inspired to fundraise for Bluebell Wood, a children’s hospice that his 12-year-old cousin, Evie-Mae O’Grady Askwith, visits for respite care.

Shay’s father explained: “Evie-Mae is such a lovely girl – she has a chromosome deletion disease so she’s unable to communicate and she can’t walk, so she’s in a wheelchair all the time.

“One day, Shay and I saw on Sky Sports that a football player (Benali) was doing loads of triathlons in a week and Shay said straight away that he wanted to do that too.

“Obviously he couldn’t do an Ironman challenge at such a young age, so he started with bike rides and built up to triathlons once a year.”

Jason thinks Shay’s main motivation is because of the love he has for his cousin.

He explained: “He just has so much love for Eva – my mum, so his nan, passed away in 2016 and she was always so passionate about them having a bond.

“They’re so different, Shay is really outgoing and confident, and Eva can’t talk so she wanted them to have some common ground, I think fundraising has done that for them.

“Eva loves Shay so much – Shay is always talking to her and joking with her, and as soon as he walks into the room her eyes dart around to look for him and he always chats away and holds her hand.”

So far Shay has completed five triathlons in the last five years.

Jason explained: “He has his own take on triathlons really – his first one, when he was eight, was the distance from Hillsborough Stadium, where Sheffield Wednesday play, to Bluebell Wood, which is about 16 miles, and he spread it across a week or so.

“Now he does them across one or two days and has done longer ones each time – he’s done ones that are 24 miles and 48 miles since then.”

Shay’s latest challenge, on March 21 2023,  included swimming, walking and cycling the distance from Sheffield Wednesday football ground to Barnsley FC’s Stadium, covering about 58 miles, in two days.

Jason said: “He didn’t do any training for it, he just turns up on the day, it’s amazing.

“He comes up with some crazy ideas – last Christmas he dressed up as Father Christmas and did a 20-mile bike ride for his cousin too.

“We’re just so proud of him – he gets out and about and meets so many people too.

“It’s just something he does because he wants to do it for his cousin, he doesn’t think much of it, he doesn’t do it for the praise or the recognition, I mentioned it to his teachers at parents’ evening and he hasn’t told them about it.”

Shay has raised more than £46,000 for Bluebell Wood.

He said: “I got a couple of hundred pounds to start with, and I didn’t really realise that if I carried on doing it, people would support me more and more.

“It feels amazing to have raised this much and to help my cousin.”

Jason and Shay have been overwhelmed by the amount of support in their community.

Jason said: “He gets a lot of support from the football network in Sheffield, it’s overwhelming really.

“We’ve got two rival teams here, Sheffield Wednesday, which we’re fans of, and Sheffield United, they are so supportive of what he does – you don’t often see the two teams getting along.”

Shay has also been nominated for a JustGiving award for his outstanding contribution to fundraising and has a place in the finals in the teenage category.

He was selected by a panel of judges which included radio DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, actress Angela Griffin, fundraiser Caroline Jones, and the general manager of JustGiving, Pascale Harvie.

Shay said: “When I heard about the JustGiving award nomination I was so excited and I am really looking forward to meeting all the other fundraisers and listening to their inspirational stories too.

“It feels amazing to fundraise for my cousin.”

Shay is already planning his next fundraiser.

He said: “I’m thinking of doing a 24-hour football match next – we’d have five people on two different sides and would replace them with other people for an hour or so to have a rest, then they’d go back on.

“When I’m older, I really want to do a marathon or a really big triathlon, like the Ironman challenge.”

For more information, and to donate, visit: page.justgiving.com/awardsvoting2023; justgiving.com/fundraising/shaystriathlon.