On Track To Tokyo

My name is Danny Sidbury, I'm a British T54 Wheelchair Athlete and a Paralympic hopeful, and this is my story... so far.

Let's begin by tackling the elephant in the room. Yes, I'm a full-time wheelchair user, due to the fact that I contracted meningitis at the age of 2, quickly followed by multiple skin grafts and below knee amputations on both legs by the age of 5. However, this is no X-Factor sob story. It's my life, with warts and all.

When confronted by strangers or random people who ask me about my disability, 'what happened to you?', 'why are you in a wheelchair?' or 'why haven't you got any legs?' I tend to respond with a hugely elaborate, heroic (and fictional) story. My favourite answers vary from shark attacks, to falling into active volcanos. These answers are not to feed my ego, but to amuse myself with people's reactions. I've found that humour is a powerful force that can help you get through tough and sensitive subjects. However, there's a lot more to me than just my disability.

When you grow up with a physical disability you face multiple challenges that perhaps most people may face later in life, or never face at all, mainly: physical, mental and social challenges. All of which I've turned into key tools for making me a professional athlete!

My first taste of wheelchair racing was at age 8, I only did it for a month, before I was whisked away with my family to start a new life in sunny Spain, where I would live out my teenage years.

So, my first taste of wheelchair racing was brief, but it had a profound and everlasting effect on me. For the first time in my life I met other wheelchair users that looked really different to what I was accustomed to. These athletes were the fittest, strongest, most athletic looking individuals I had ever seen (that includes able bodied). These individuals had climbed mountains (literally) in their wheelchairs! had not only done and completed marathons but won them, in wheelchairs! There was nothing 'disabled' about these people. To a young boy of 8, they looked like real-life superheroes!

11 years later I return to the UK and moved in with my grandparents. At age 19 I enrolled at Barnet College in North London where I studied Business and Law for 2 years, but remained uncertain about the future and what I wanted to do with my life. On my 20th birthday I moved into a small flat in London and decided to write a bucket list (things you want to do/achieve before you kick the bucket) in the hopes that it'll help me figure out what to do next with my life.

I was gradually ticking things off my bucket list, things such as: Taking a flying lesson (in a Cessna 152), backpacking across Croatia with friends or passing my driving test, when I decided that next on the list was the London Marathon!

This challenge inspired me to try to get back in contact with the coach I had met over 11 years ago. Miraculously, I did, and she was still coaching! I met her and told her what I wanted to achieve (complete London Marathon) and she was able to provide me with a second-hand racing wheelchair to train in. This chair had clearly seen better days but it was good enough for a newbie like me.

We started training twice a week on an athletics track, where over a period of time we worked our way up from 100m up to 800m. Once I had nailed the basics on the track, we transitioned our training on to the road. We started by doing 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) which seemed like a big jump to me. Little did I know it was the first of many big jumps. Speaking of which, the next distance I was tasked with completing was 20k (just shy of half marathon) I was able to complete this distance in just over an hour. Once I had done a few of those, my coach deemed me fit enough to tackle the 2015 London Marathon! And so, another challenge had been ticked off the bucket list. 

Instead of moving on to the next task on the list, I was completely hooked on the sport of wheelchair racing. I had met some incredible, interesting people and had competed in some exciting races along the way to participating in my first marathon. The defining moment for me was my first ever track competition at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. I was competing against athletes who were training 6 days a week (to my 2 days a week) and had competed for Great Britain at a World Junior level. They had bespoke custom racing chairs designed exclusively for them, and yet, I was able to beat them! This filled me with confidence, and made me think: If I take this seriously, how far could I go? I felt that I had found my true calling. Since that competition, my coach, myself and the rest of our team have been grinding away for the past 4 years. To date I have completed 3 London Marathons, each faster than the last. I also rank in the top 3 athletes in Britain for all distances (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10k and Half Marathon), Top 10 in Europe over the same distances and top 30 in the World!

My ultimate goal is to compete in a Paralympic Games. It could be Tokyo 2020 or it may be Paris 2024, either way, we will not stop until we make it!

All pictures credited to Peter Milsom