Reid’s leap of faith finally pays off
BASKING in the glory of several victory laps of the London Stadium after earning Britain’s second gold of the World Para Athletics Championships, Stefanie Reid found herself in reflective mood. In her charismatic and selfdeprecating manner, the long jumper returned to her 16-yearold former self. After losing her right foot in a boating accident as a teenager, she was determined not to miss out on her sporting dreams. Reid said: ‘I remember when I started para sport and I stood on the track and, let’s be honest, nobody wanted to coach the chubby girl with one foot. It took a while to get someone on board. ‘I did my first World Champs in 2006. And this is the first time I stood on top of the podium. It’s been a long journey and it’s really satisfying at the end of it all. I made a decision in 2006 to pursue this over medical school, which a lot of people were saying was nuts — “how is a one-footed sprinter possibly going to make it?” But I’m so thankful I did because I can’t imagine missing out on this, watching this from my sofa.’
The 32-year-old has endured the near-misses, claiming silver at the Paralympics at London 2012 and the same again last summer at the Rio Games.
Born in New Zealand to British parents, Reid grew up in Toronto and subsequently represented Canada until the age of 25.
After claiming gold for Britain yesterday, she embraced her Darlington-born mum in the crowd. And as she sat down in the bowels of the stadium, her broad smile gave way as she admitted that she had begun to believe that she may destined to ‘always be silver’. She admitted: ‘There are always those voices in your head and moments of self-doubt. You wonder if you are always destined to be silver and you have to ask some really tough questions of yourself because if you believe that [you are only silver], then you may as well retire now.’
Reid, jumped 5.40m in the T44 long jump event — for athletes with a single leg amputation below the knee. Marlene van Gansewinkel, of the Netherlands, won silver with 5.29m and Japan’s Maya Nakanishi took bronze with 5m.
The French athlete MarieAmelie Le Fur, who won gold in Rio, was not competing and Reid embraced the opportunity.
After her win, Reid paid tribute to coach Aston Moore, who took her on in 2015, as she revealed that she is considering a gold medal bid in Tokyo in 2020. ‘I would not only describe Aston Moore as a great coach but also an incredibly wise man.
‘In 2015, I no longer had a coach and not everyone is super excited to pick up a 31-year-old athlete. It was Aston’s first dive into para sport and he has absolutely loved it. It has always been my ambition that when somebody watches me jump, they say, “Wow, she’s an amazing jumper”, not just “She’s amazing for an amputee.”
‘I’d be really disappointed to not do Tokyo.’