Birmingham teen and double-amputee international race ending goes viral
An inspiring double-amputee teenager from Birmingham has been praised by thousands of people after footage of her finishing an international race went viral.
Daisy-May Demetre from Birmingham had both of her lower legs amputated at just 18 months old, but has spent her childhood showing that there is no limit to what she can achieve - including competing in races, modelling for major brands and doing talks to raise awareness.
Last weekend, Daisy-May took part in Greece's Spetsathlon 2025, a mass sporting event that takes place on the island of Spetses, drawing international crowds.
READ MORE: 'I swapped my high-flying role and company car to patrol the streets of Birmingham'
Footage of the 14-year-old crossing the finishing line on May 17, cheered on by residents and and holiday-makers in cafes along the race route, has since gone viral, bringing Daisy-May's story to the world.
You can watch the footage in the video at the top of this story.
Daisy-May ran the 5k race within the three-day event, and footage of her crossing the finish line, aided by her dad Alex Demetre, racked up more than 161,000 views on her Instagram page, which has 125,000 people following her journey.
"I like to inspire people that they can be themselves, we are normal people and we are exactly like everyone else" Daisy-May told BirminghamLive after the race.
Daisy-May was born with born with fibular hemimelia – a birth defect in which the calf bone is missing.
She shot to fame in 2018 when she became the face of River Island, and has since walked the catwalk at London Fashion Week and is starring in Birmingham Fashion Week later this year.
The determined youngster also won the Child of Courage award at Pride of Birmingham 2019 - touching hearts across the region.
Daisy-May's dad Alex told BirminghamLive his daughter completed the Spetses race with "strength, pride, and determination" and described an "electric atmosphere" as people watched her fight to make the finish line.
"It was a crazy reaction, my dad was carrying me, I am glad, it was really hard and my dad carried me for some of it" Daisy-May said.
"The atmosphere was amazing everyone was cheering her" added Alex.
"Team work makes the dream work."
Recalling the battle to get to the finish line, Daisy-May told BirminghamLive: "It was hard.
"I like doing these sorts of challenges like climbing mountains.
"I do acting, some modelling, I like giving talks to people."
Despite having both of her lower legs amputated at just 18 months old, an issue that was picked up on her 20-week scan, Daisy-May began modelling and training gymnastics at a young age.
Dad Alex, told BirminghamLive: "When she was born I ended up turning to drinking, we found out when my partner was pregnant that she would have to have amputations.
"It broke me."
Now in year 10, Daisy-May said she only models and runs on her blades so she can raise awareness and encourage others that they face no barriers.
She spends her time between her mum and dad's houses in Birmingham and in her spare time, travels around Europe to complete competitions or give talks to community groups.
Recently Alex and Daisy-May travelled to Tenerife to help with at an inclusive fitness retreat specifically tailored for amputees.
Ahead of her appearance at Birmingham Fashion Week in September, Daisy-May said: "I love doing modelling and wearing new clothes.
"I wear my blades so that it shows I am an amputee, I just want to show people that no matter what challenges you face you can still inspire people to believe in themselves."
Daisy-May has now signed up with an agent to pursue acting, which she hopes will take her into the film and television industry, and will be sitting her GCSEs next year.
"I use my prosthetic legs for school, for modelling and racing I use the blades" she added.
On her future, dad Alex added: "She was amazing, we have climbed Mount Snowdon together.
"The Spetsathlon team are amazing, we will probably go out there next year.
"Daisy-May has that drive and determination, you can't teach that, I am always in her ear telling her how great she is.
"When she has her prosthetics on they look like normal legs, you would not know it does not affect her life."
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