ATHLETE’S VIEW
Paris Paralympians – In Their Own Words: Gregg Stevenson
GBR PR2 Mix2x
As told to Tom Ransley
PHOTOGRAPHY BENEDICT TUFNELL
I’m not saying the world championships is nothing, but the Paralympics is next level stuff.
People in my hometown were getting excited well before we left for Paris. They were getting invested in the story, that’s the difference. A few months before the Games I took my kids to football and everyone was asking me about Paris. The Paralympics registers with the public in a way that other rowing events just don’t. There’s an aura about it.
When I arrived at the village there was a real vibe about the place. It was brilliant to see all the other nations and athletes living together. It was exciting to be a part of, then the next big moment for me was seeing the grandstands packed out with thousands of supporters on the first race day, that was epic.
Last season we went to the trial races at Vaires-sur-Marne. It was a smart move because it meant we knew the lake and we’d performed well so that helped put me at ease. And during our pre-Paris camp we watched the Olympic guys race and gathered a bit of information from them too, for example we knew the course could be a bit cross windy. There were no surprises. We were ready.