SAUCHIE athlete Mitchell Graham has taken part in his first race at the Deaflympics in Turkey.

After flying out on Friday, July 14, the youth worker ran a 400m qualifier yesterday evening and secured a time of 52.92 seconds.

Mitchell admitted that he is still adapting to the stifling heat in Samsun but is making the most of every minute of the whole experience.

He told Advertiser Sport: "I have been training everyday to keep my condition good and get used to the heat. Samsun is a great city as there is so much to explore and I am lucky to spare some time during the day to support GB sports including swimming, golf, football, tennis and athletics.

"The athlete village experience is brilliant. You get to see people from other countries and learn their culture and sign language. I have competed in the European and World Championships for basketball and athletics so I have seen some athletes that I have competed against. It was great to see them again."

As he looks ahead to the semi-final of the event and the qualifying for the 200m, which both take place today, he added: "As the days go by, the weather has been getting hotter, reaching to the day of my race.

"I was starting to feel the nerves and the heat is not helping me to cool down. All of the athletes are there to compete for medals so it is going to be a tough race.

"Lastly, for everyone who donated for me to go to the Deaflympics in Samsun, I wanted to say a massive thank you for your support through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It was a tough journey trying to raise the funds."