Table tennis star is ready for Games
PONTYPRIDD’S table tennis star Sara Head says she has been inspired by Team GB’s heroes – as well as her local community of Beddau – as she prepares for the Paralympic Games.
Sara, 36, from Beddau, won bronze at the London 2012 Games in the team class 1-3 event – and she flies to Brazil in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The table tennis events will take place from September 8 to 18, with Sara competing for Team GB in the singles and team events, having found out in March she had made the squad.
Sara said: “I was ecstatic to find out I’d got in. I’ve been watching Team GB and all the medals coming in and how much it means to each person – and also, the emotion and disappointment of the athletes who missed out on med- als – how much they care.
“It’s been totally inspiring and getting me through my last few weeks of training. You become a part of that emotional rollercoaster and I feel so lucky to be involved.
“I feel ready to go. My goal is to go out and perform at my best when I’m there. Obviously, I’d like to go and win a medal, but performing at my best is what I’m focusing on.
“I’ve had great training recently and we’re all really excited to get going. I’m travelling with the table tennis squad, which is made up of 13 in total with four from Wales.
“We’re such a tight group – we go through the highs and lows together and we are very much one big team.”
Sara added that she will be thinking of Pontypridd when competing in Rio and has already had so much support in the run up to the Games from the community in Beddau – where a public bench celebrating her achievements was put up.
“You know, it’s the people at home who have got me to where I am today,” she said.
“I’ve had so many lovely messages off people and children stopping me in the street asking ‘haven’t you gone yet?’.
“I’ll be taking photos of friends and family with me and it’ll be very much a home from home for me.
“The bench is such an honour. Every day going to training I see it and it spurs me on. And I love seeing the local children using it.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone in the community and to say that young people can go out and work hard and have these types of opportunity.”
And, there’ll be two more voices cheering for Sara in Rio, with the parents of Rhondda Paralympic sprinter Rhys Jones going along to support her.
Sara added: “Rhys’ parents are coming to watch me. I know the family really well – I remember when Rhys made the squad four years ago and how de- lighted he was at it.
“We’ve all kind of lived the last four-year cycle together.”
Rhys ready for Rio: See Sport