Kaleigh Michelle Grainger (born

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 28 February 1986) is a British

unicyclist A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is practic ...

. She won a gold medal at Unicon X, in China, in 2000 when only 14 years old in the pairs freestyle category. Kaleigh Grainger, the daughter of Stephen and Elaine Grainger, has been unicycling since she was four years old and learned many skills from her father, a

circus skills Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-per ...

veteran who currently operates his own travelling circus school. Her mother died in December 2004, aged 46, after a five-year battle against

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. In 2001, just after her 15th birthday, Kaleigh became the first unicyclist to appear on Aster and Keli - one of Iceland's most popular children's TV programmes. That year, she also made an appearance at the British Juggling Convention held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and performed for the British Ambassador in Washington DC. In November 2008 Kaleigh qualified as a barrister gaining the BVC from the

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and being called at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

where she is a member. Kaleigh gained her law degree from Lancaster University,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, in 2007, and is a former pupil of Sledmere Primary School in

and St Michael's Church of England High School in nearby

Rowley Regis Rowley Regis ( ) is a town and former municipal borough in Sandwell in the county of the West Midlands, England. It encompasses the three Sandwell council wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley. At the 2011 census, the com ...

References

External links

Kaleigh Grainger's MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, Kaleigh 1986 births Living people Alumni of Edge Hill University Alumni of Lancaster University Unicyclists