Cumbria's Paralympian Anna Nicholson says people now realise 'we are athletes'

Paralympian shot putter Anna Nicholson says "people realise that we are athletes" who train just as hard as Olympians.

Anna Nicholson, 29, from Brampton, who has cerebral palsy, is about to embark on her second Paralympic Games in Paris and believes the public now know disabled athletes are "there to compete".

She said: "People realise that we are athletes, we're not just disabled people who happen to be at the Paralympics - we're there to compete, we train just as hard as the Olympians."

Anna competes in the F35 shot put classification which includes athletes with coordination impairments.

She competed at the Paralympic Tokyo Games in 2020, where she finished in sixth place.

The Paralympian first tried para athletics in 2010 and has not looked back since, competing in World Junior Games and World Para Athletics Championships before being selected for her first Paralympics in 2020.

Anna has a master's degree in chemical engineering and works in the car production industry.

Before April she had to balance working full-time while training throughout the week.

She said: "I work currently part-time, before April I was working full-time so it was a little bit more challenging before then. In the week we'll have two to three throw sessions and we'll do two to three gym sessions depending on the time of the year.

"Also some sprints and recovery in terms of swimming, pilates, to help with my balance and co-ordination.

"It's quite full on trying to manage everything, but I think the support network I've got around me has really helped me to do that. Both at home, at work and at training as well, my coach is so supportive."

Anna recently set a new personal best of 9.47m at the World Para Athletics Grad Prix in Paris last year. She cannot wait to get started on 5 September 2024.

She said: "I'm really excited to compete. Watching the Olympics was amazing, getting to see everybody compete on the track where we're going to be - I just wanted it to come sooner.

"Now we're here with the team, everything is feeling really real. Training is going well, so I'm looking forward to competing and it's not too long to go now.

"I've got friends and family coming to watch. My parents, my partner and some friends as well. It's going to be amazing to have them there in the stands. Obviously in Tokyo we didn't have the opportunity to get people to come and watch."

Anna believes disabled people's access to sport has evolved since she first started, she added: "I think it's really different, I was 15 when I first started athletics, I didn't really know what para sport was.

"I loved doing sport, I wasn't particularly good at anything because I was competing against non-disabled children.

"For me I understand para sport a lot more and I think the general public are starting to as well. Obviously, London 2012 was amazing for the Paralympics, everybody got so involved.

"When I was younger I didn't really have that coverage to see what other disabled people where doing, I didn't really know any other disabled people. My childhood was doing the best that I could, my parents were so supportive in making that happen.

"Now you see youngsters who are trying sport out at a much younger age than I did, and it's so amazing to see them. Hopefully with the Paralympics being there and being widely watched will help to inspire some younger athletes as well."

Twelve days of Paralympic action will get underway on 28 August 2024, with the opening ceremony starting at 7pm.

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