Ex-marine who had both legs blown off is now hoping to win gold at the Paralympics

  • Sport

  • Video report by ITV News' Paul Davies

A former marine who became a double amputee at the age of 19 is now hoping to bring gold home for Britain at the Rio Paralympics.

ITV News first spoke to Joe Townsend shortly after he lost both his legs in Afghanistan and "couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel".

Now 27, he has now turned his life around and credits sport with helping him do more than he thought he could ever achieve.

He said: "Sport has completely changed my life. I suffered life-changing injuries and managed to flip that round on its head and make the best out of a bad situation, and I'm just going to push myself."

Joe now hopes to be selected to represent Great Britain in the Paratriathlon - a new sport which combines wheelchair racing, wheelchair biking and swimming.

It's a far cry from what he describes as his "darkest days" when he had to lie on his front for two weeks after having his legs and part of his bottom removed.

He said: "At the time, I wasn't strong enough to lift my head off the pillow. It was difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

"I was lucky enough to meet other guys injured earlier on in Afghanistan and Iraq so I knew there was a life waiting for me."

Since Joe was injured in 2008 after stepping on a landmine in Helmand Province he has undergone 50 operations.

But after being introduced to the sport on a trip to San Diego organised by the Army's 'Battle Back' programme in 2009 he hasn't looked back.

He competed for Team True Spirit in the British Ironman race in 2011, where he met his wife Jenny.

Joe on his wedding day with wife Jenny, who he met in 2011. Credit: Joe Townsend

The race consists of:

  • A 2.4-mile swim (or 152 lengths of a full size pool)

  • A 112-mile bike ride (the equivalent of cycling from London to Birmingham)

  • A marathon run

Joe became the first double-amputee to compete in the event, completing it in 12 hours and 56 minutes - and he is currently ranked seventh in the world.

And in 2012 he took part in the Paralympics opening ceremony where he flew into the stadium on a zip wire.

Joe at the Paralympic opening ceremony in London in 2012. Credit: London2012.com

ITV News will be following Joe as he tries to turn his Paralympic dream into reality in September.

Joe said: "I've been training for Rio for the best part of four years now, training two to three times a day every day.

"It's not something you can just fall into. You don't go to Afghanistan and lose limbs and think 'oh, I'll become a Paralympian.'

"It's not like that, it's a huge dedication and life commitment."

Joe says he's done more since being injured than he ever thought possible. Credit: ITV News

And Joe hopes his story will go on to inspire other people whose lives change as dramatically as his.

He said: "I only ever planned on being in the Royal Marines. I would have probably done two or three more tours of Afghanistan by now. Who knows if I would have come back at all?

"But since getting injured I've flown into the Paralympic stadium in London, got married, found a new career, found a new love for sport.

"Bad things happen, but you've got to make the best out of a bad situation, and I've definitely done more since becoming injured than I had ever done before my injury, or probably ever would have done.

"So, as I say, seize the opportunity that you've got and make the most out of it."

For more information on stories like Joe's, visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk or the British Paralympic Association at paralympics.org.uk

  • Watch ITV News Senior International Correspondent John Irvine's interview with Joe Townsend in 2009: