Right on target
Delight for MacQueen as Polbeth archer seals Rio spot with Team GB
Polbeth archer Nathan MacQueen has spoken of his delight after being selected to represent Team GB at the Paralympic Games later this year in Brazil.
The talented 24-year-old was a former professional rugby player, having represented Glasgow Warriors before a motorbike crash just after his 18th birthday left him paralysed from the waist down.
After the accident, MacQueen initially turned to powerlifting and held dreams of competing in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, only to be cruelly sidelined by injury.
It was after that he decided to pick up a bow and arrow for the first time — and he hasn’t looked back since.
He commented: “I had my accident when I was 18 and it was really a lifechanging event, but I was determined to turn the incident into a positive, and I feel that I have done that.
“I only took up archery after I had to give up powerlifting through injury. I had hoped to be part of the Commonwealth Games team, but it wasn’t to be. When I decided on archery, I wanted to give it my all and this has made it all worthwhile.
“I never really expected to be involved in Rio 2016. It was certainly a goal I had in mind, but even I had to tell myself a few times that it wasn’t especially realistic.”
But MacQueen impressed Team GB coaches during a number of events and training camps over the last two years and has been rewarded with a call to represent his country in the greatest sporting event in the world.
He said: “There is nothing more that I could want at this moment in time.
“I have committed so much to the sport in the last few years and selection really makes it all worthwhile.
“I watched London 2012 and saw how fantastic the British public were in supporting the Paralympics GB team, so I hope that they can support us again and supercharge us to Rio.
“I found out that I had been called into the squad a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn’t able to tell anyone until they released the information on Tuesday, which was really difficult.”
As for his expectations in Brazil, he commented: “I’m not going over there with any expectations or pressure on myself. I think I perform better that way, when there’s really nothing in my mind and I just go out there and do it.
“Just being part of the team is a dream come true — anything else would be a bonus.”