Former soldier to visit Rio Paralympics
Archer lost both legs and an eye in bomb blast
A FORMER soldier from Cosby who lost both his legs and an eye in a bomb blast is to travel to the Rio Paralympic Games next month.
Steve Gill is one of seven military athletes to be given a spot on the Paralympic Inspiration Programme.
The programme, which was first launched in London 2012, provides budding athletes and coaching staff with an experience of the games before they attend competitively.
It is hoped the trip will inspire the group to pursue their Paralympic potential with the aim of representing their country by 2018 or 2020.
Steve, 46, a former Royal Anglian Private, lost both his legs and right eye in an IRA bomb blast while serving with the British Army in Belfast, in 1989.
The dad of nine appeared as a contestant on reality TV show Big Brother’s 11th series in 2010, and also appeared on Motors TV in 2014 to talk about a charity effort to drive through 42 counties in 24 hours in aid of BLESMA - the national charity for all limbless service men and women.
The hopeful archer will visit Brazil in September after being nominated by Team GB.
The group will be given a firsthand experience of the games and will be taught about nutrition, the media spotlight, antidoping, competition planning and goal setting.
The scheme is being run by the British Paralympic Association (BPA) in partnership with Help for Heroes and the national governing bodies for sports.
Jayne Kavanagh, performance pathway manager at Help for Heroes, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to again be involved with such a unique initiative to enable our country’s wounded to experience the spirit of the Summer Paralympics at Rio, thanks to our partners at the BPA.
“It is our hope that this experience will inspire our Paralympic Inspiration Programme athletes to dedicate themselves to their training in order to achieve their dreams of competing in future summer and winter Paralympic games.”
Kate Eddy, athlete services manager at BPA, added: “It is really exciting to be able to launch the programme once again.
“We know the programme has been really successful in the past and so I look forward to following this Rio cohort on their journeys towards Tokyo.”