Deafblind student adventurer picked to start race

Karolina Pakenaite has Usher syndrome, which affects her vision, hearing and balance

A university student who is deaf and blind has been chosen to fire the starting gun at a city's half marathon this weekend.

Karolina Pakenaite, who studies at the University of Bath, will perform the honour before joining thousands of others to take part in the 13.1-mile (21.1km) run on Sunday.

The PhD student, who is originally from Southport, Merseyside, is a keen athlete and adventurer. She has previously completed the London Marathon and has scaled the Three Peaks in less than 24 hours.

"I want to break the stereotype around blindness and bring a better understanding," she said.

Ms Pakenaite has Usher syndrome, a rare degenerative genetic condition that affects sight, hearing and sometimes balance.

When she was diagnosed at the age of 19, she was told her vision and hearing would fade over time.

She has said her guide dog has helped her regain confidence as she has limited peripheral vision and struggles to see in low light.

For the half marathon on Sunday, Ms Pakenaite will be accompanied by a guide, Tom Hutchison.

Ms Pakenaite training with her guide, Tom Hutchison

The pair have only been running together for a week after her previous guide suffered a knee injury, but they said their training is going well.

"The challenges will probably be things we can't expect," Mr Hutchison said.

"Things will happen in the race, people will be in front, somebody might fall over, so we just have to be flexible."

Ms Pakenaite's ambition is to become the first deafblind person to summit Mount Everest.

She hopes to complete the challenge in 2026.