With the dust settling on a wonderful Olympic Games, it’s now the turn of the Paralympians. Andy Greeves speaks with talented local athletes looking to secure glory for ParalympicsGB and Derbyshire.
Name: Jack Shephard
Sport: Para-badminton
While he made his Paralympic debut at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, Jack Shephard believes Paris 2024 represents the opportunity to ‘experience how a “proper” Games should be’.
Three years ago, Jack was one of four British men to compete in the Paralympics’ first-ever para-badminton tournament.
Staged in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, all events took place without the presence of spectators.
‘Tokyo was a good experience as a first Games,’ reflects Jack, who was born in Chesterfield in July 1997 and raised in Dronfield.
‘But it was a different experience because of the restrictions around Covid. No friends or family were allowed to come and there were no spectators. I'm really looking forward to getting to Paris, experiencing the Paralympics properly and hopefully having the crowds this time will help me perform at my best.’
Jack was unable to progress beyond the group stage of the para-badminton competition in Tokyo but heading to France with three world and five European titles to his name, the 26-year-old must fancy his chances of landing a medal this time around.
He has two opportunities too, as he’ll not only take part in the men’s singles SH6 event but also the mixed doubles SH6 alongside Rachel Choong.
‘In the singles, I’m looking forward to giving it another good go and bringing back a gold medal hopefully,’ he smiles.
‘As for the doubles, myself and Rachel Choong are well prepared. We've been putting in some really good performances this year and we're looking to bring back a gold medal in that too.’
Jack discovered badminton aged ten when he was introduced to the sport through the Dwarf Sports Association and played for many years thereafter at Dronfield Leisure Centre with his father, grandfather and brother.
‘I played with them a lot and really enjoyed it,’ he adds. ‘I also went to school at Henry Fanshawe in Dronfield and they were really supportive from a young age, especially the PE department, knowing how sporty I was. They have had a big influence on where I am today.
‘Eventually, I got to a level with my badminton where I started training at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS). I live in Sheffield for my training needs, but my connections to Derbyshire remain strong and I’m back in Dronfield and Chesterfield a lot, where my parents are.
‘I’m also an ambassador for the Derbyshire Institute of Sport, who help young athletes getting into sport.
‘It’s certainly been a journey getting to where I am today and Derbyshire has played a big part in that. I’m hoping for the support of Derbyshire going into this Paralympics!’
Name: Dave Ellis
Sport: Paratriathlon (PTVI)
‘The chance to go to the Paralympics is why you’re involved in your sport, it’s the pinnacle of para-sport,’ says para-triathlete Dave Ellis, as he prepares to make his third Games appearance.
Dave represented ParalympicsGB at six different swimming events at the Games in Beijing in 2008 before returning to the Paralympics at Tokyo 2020 to compete in the para-triathlon.
‘It was all a bit overwhelming arriving at that first Games in Beijing,’ reflects Dave on his Paralympic debut in 2008.
‘I don’t think you can ever imagine para-sport being done on such a big stage, with so much support. As soon as I competed at Beijing, I was really keen to compete at future Paralympics. It was such an incredible experience.’
Dave’s switch from international swimmer to triathlete came about in 2013. Racing with a guide due to having less than 10% of his vision, he made an immediate impact, securing the European title in Turkey before being crowned World Champion in London that same year.
He claimed that unique World and European ‘double’ again in 2017 and 2018. But his hopes of a medal at Tokyo 2020 were dashed by a mechanical issue on the bike.
‘The race went the way you’d never want a race to go, not even finishing,’ laments Dave.
Three years on, the former City of Derby swimmer - who attended Heanor Gate School (now Heanor Gate Spencer Academy) - is in great form, having won three World Triathlon events with guide Luke Pollard in 2024.
The pair were also victorious at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 World Triathlon Para Cup in Paris last August.
‘It’s an incredible setting for the triathlon,’ says Dave, adding that 13 members of his family will be travelling to the French capital to support him.
‘I ran it last year in a test event and you can’t believe you’re racing in such an iconic area of the city, seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées and swimming in the Seine.
‘It’s probably the best course we’ll ever do in terms of the landmarks we’re taking in and where it’s based in the city.’
Name: Megan Neave
Sport: Swimming – 100m Backstroke SM14
Para-swimmer Megan Neave picked up her first-ever World Series gold in the women’s 100m backstroke in Aberdeen back in February and followed up with a silver at the European Para Swimming Championships in Funchal, Portugal, in May.
That same month, she was named amongst a 26-strong para swimming team for Paris 2024, with Megan one of 15 Games debutants in the squad.
‘My mum found out before I did and was the one to tell me,’ recalls Megan on the moment she discovered she had made the ParalympicsGB squad for Paris 2024.
‘She got the email, rang me and said “You’ve made the Paralympic team!” I didn’t believe her at first but I was really excited.
‘I was so happy to have done the required time in London (at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships back in March) but you never know until it’s official. I couldn’t believe it and neither could my coach, who thought I was joking when I told him the news!’
Raised near Swadlincote, Megan attended St Edward’s Catholic Primary School, Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy and Stephenson College in Coalville while her swimming talent was honed at Swadlincote Swimming Club, the City of Derby Swimming Club, then Repton.
‘My uncle was a swim coach and I was around six or seven when I first joined Swadlincote Swimming Club where he was head coach,’ explains Megan, who has autism and ADHD.
‘At 13, I switched to City of Derby as I needed access to more pool hours. Then I moved to Repton which was a newly-formed swimming club and closer to home, it offers excellent coaching and pool facilities.
‘Repton is a school, so the club ties in with the school as well as external swimmers like myself, who don’t study there. Marcus Birmingham, my coach, and all the coaching team at Repton have been very supportive on my journey to the Paralympics.’
Megan is also quick to mention the Derbyshire Institute of Sport as well as her part-time employers, Planters Garden Centre in Bretby.
‘I mainly work in the kitchen now at Planters and they’ve always been really supportive with my hours when I need to book time off and they post encouraging messages on their social media when I’m competing,’ says Megan.
ALSO FEATURING
Based in Diseworth on the Leicestershire-Derbyshire border, Emma Wiggs MBE is one of Great Britain’s most decorated para-athletes.
Paris 2024 will mark her fourth Paralympics, having made her Games debut back in 2012 as a member of GB’s sitting volleyball team.
Switching to paracanoeing later in 2012, Emma won KL2 gold as paracanoeing appeared at the Paralympic Games for the first time at Rio 2016.
At Tokyo 2020, she won a second Paralympic gold medal, this time in the VL2, while she also claimed silver in the KL2 to become the first female athlete to win two Paralympic paracanoe medals at a single Games.
