'We can do things able-bodied people can't': ParalympicGB rowers get ready for Paris
The Paralympic Games in Paris start on August 28 and attention is turning to the next crop of athletes hoping to bring back gold for Great Britain, Caroline Lewis reports
Paralympic GB's rowers gearing up for the Paralympics have been training three times a day, six days a week - often seeing a lot more of each other than their own families.
They head to Paris on Saturday, ready for the Games' opening ceremony on August 28.
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Lauren Rowles is hoping to make history and become a triple champion.
"I'd love to come away with a third Paralympic gold medal - that's never been done in the history of this sport. To have my name in those history books... I've been thinking about that moment for a very long time," she told ITV News.
"For me, the Paralympics is about blowing people's minds, it's about showing people that despite the fact that we have disabilities, we can do things that able-bodied people can't do."
"I can row faster than you and I'm using half of my body," she added.
Gregg Stevenson is a former soldier who lost both of his legs in 2009 when he stepped on an IED while serving in Afghanistan. He said there are lots of similarities between Army life and training for the Games.
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"Early mornings, working hard, working in all conditions. I never thought I'd get to this level and that's the interesting thing about acquiring a disability, it does open doors in different areas."
"It took me a while to understand that," he added.
Stevenson's Tokyo 2020 dreams were dashed because of an injury, but now he'll be making his Olympic debut just a few days shy of his 40th birthday.
Benjamin Pritchard is returning for his second Paralympic Games - he turned to rowing after a cycling crash left him paralysed from the waist down in 2016 . He's hoping to win a medal after placing fifth in Tokyo, and he's since won two World Championship podium places.
For some of the team it'll be their first Paralympics, like Frankie Allen and Ed Fuller, who both joined the team after the last Olympics.
"[The team had] just come back from Tokyo with gold medals and me and Frankie just slotted into this crew... We'd just watched them on TV and we're here rowing with them," Fuller said.
The Paralympic Games in Paris start on August 28 and will run until September 8.
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