AS TOLD TO TOM RANSLEY

PHOTOGRAPHY BENEDICT TUFNELL

Why doesn’t Para sport get more exposure?It’s so cool. It redefines what it means to be an elite athlete. Sport through the Paralympics lens provides such a unique view. Every Paralympian has an inspiring story, knowing how much they have struggled and endured only adds to it.

To be an Olympian has always been my dream. I’ve fulfilled that dream, albeit I took a different route. For me the Paralympics is just as big, and just as important, as the Olympics. In society’s view it isn’t. The words ‘Olympic’ and ‘Paralympic’ ought to be raised to the same level. To be a Paralympian should be as meaningful, impactful, and worthy as an Olympian.

I loved my time in the Paralympic Village. It’s its own little world, impossible to imagine until you get there. When I arrived I was overwhelmed by a huge sense of belonging. There were people from all across the globe – all different and all unique – yet together they created this shared community. It was motivating to see them go about their business, living life just as much as anyone else. I wish the rest of the world could have seen it, and seen how cool these people are.

A person living with a disability isn’t weird or something to be afraid of: it needs normalising. I have young siblings, they have grown up with me and they aren’t bothered by my wheelchair, they’re kids and they have no judgements, they see me for me. “That's her way and that's fine. She has two wheels and goes fast.” That's how we all need to view it, we don't need all these biases and prejudices. In the village there were these motorised attachments for wheelchairs. People were whizzing all over the place, sometimes they would form a chain by hanging on to the leader with the motor, they even had to reduce the speed capacity because people were speeding too much.