The Paralympics in 2012 changed my life. Sounds incredibly cliche, but, I watched and felt so empowered - I didn’t need to just watch sport from the sidelines anymore, I could do it. I’d bought into ‘I can’t do sport’ my entire life & realised I had missed out on so (THREAD) https://twitter.com/Paralympics/status/1293910178106978307

many opportunities because of buying into this belief. Schools need to do better. If it wasn’t for London 2012, I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing or where I’d be right now. Sport has given me a focus and a purpose, both on and off the track. It lead me to University and

it helped me feel like I ‘fit in’ somewhere as well as giving me an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. My only regret is that I didn’t know prior to my late teenage years that sport was an option for me. Not every person with a disability is sporty and

there’s absolutely no problem with this - it’s not for everyone. But! Not every person with a disability is given the opportunity to see if they’re sporty. Before London 2012 I would have said I’m 110% NOT sporty. It worries me that disabled children are still discouraged on

the whole to participate in sport, particularly in mainstream education.Documentaries like Rising Phoenix are really important - sport is for everyone, but a lot of the time this message gets lost in translation and there is not enough coverage of disability and para sport. I was

lucky - I had a home Paralympic Games all over my television in my late teens, so this message reached me. And no, it’s not ‘inspiration porn’ - showing disability & para sport on TV a) gives the athletes the platform they deserve, and b) displays the doors and opportunities out

there. I never set out to win medals for GB or break world records - I just wanted to participate, but my sheer enjoyment for my sport meant that I just kept getting better and better as I constantly wanted to better myself and it provides independence & freedom. If it wasn’t

for the incredible show of London 2012 & the TV coverage, none of this would have happened for me.I hope we see more & more documentaries like Rising Phoenix. I urge you to watch, sporty or not, disabled or able bodied. Perceptions along with coverage still have a long way to go!