The former lacrosse player turned pistol shooter, Issy Bailey, has been selected to represent Team GB at the Paralympic Games due to be held in Tokyo, Japan, this summer.
After the news broke last week, Issy, a former pupil at Rendcomb College, said it was great to be selected for the team once again.
“Though it is a little different this time around, as [the team] couldn't all be together, we were still able to mark the occasion via Zoom, talk to the press and spread the good news on social media.
“It's a great confidence-builder to know we've been selected, as other teams and athletes are still in limbo, which is a difficult place to be.”
Initially a hockey player to the core, Issy first picked up a lacrosse stick aged 13 when it was the spring term sport at her new school.
“My heart and soul were in hockey and so I know I aggravated the coaches rather a lot by playing on the ground more than in the air!
“But nonetheless I made the school 1st team, made it through county trials and remember coming second in a schools competition.”
It was only during her rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a car accident in 2013 that Issy became aware of pistol shooting as a sport.
“We were offered a handful of sports as pastimes, but I had a lot of broken bones and internal injuries, so took to shooting whilst more physical sports were a bit beyond me.
“At the time, the GB team trained at the sports centre that was attached to the rehabilitation unit, so I was lucky to meet the GB coach on my first visit. He recognised my natural ability and set me a training programme almost instantly.
“Within 10 months, I was on the GB team and competed in my first World Cup, so I'm very grateful for the opportunity he gave me.”
Since then, Issy’s rise to the top has been nothing short of meteoric and, in 2016, she competed at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she finished 14th and narrowly missed out on the final, and a chance to win a medal, by just five points!
“Competing at the 2016 Games was an honour; I remember taking a moment on my own in the Village one day, looking around in the sunshine and thinking: "wow, look at where you are, look what you have achieved".
“Being paralysed still felt very new to me, yet the opportunities of Paralympic sport had allowed me to achieve more than I ever anticipated.
“Competing alongside the world's best, some of which had become my idols, was incredible.
“I learnt a lot and took pride in both representing Britain and spreading the message of the Paralympics.”
At the 2016 Games, Issy was joined by her pistol shooting team-mate Stewart Nangle who, she says, gave her a lot of good advice and confidence. Something she will have to be without this year as the lone pistol shooter in the team.
“I've been the lone pistol since [Stewart] retired from sport in 2018 and it feels good to have kept the flag flying to another Games.
“There will be five rifle shooters and one pistol in Tokyo but it's important for the future of the sport that pistol shooting is represented.
“I want everyone to see that it's possible to get there, even in a country in which pistol shooting can be difficult to pursue.
“Shooting is a very mentally demanding sport (I'd say it's 75% psychological), so once the basics have been learnt, it's all about building a solid, consistent technique that holds firm under pressure.”
And, when it comes to disability sport, Issy couldn’t be a bigger advocate of people getting out there and trying different sports.
“To anyone looking to get involved in disability sport, I'd say take every opportunity you can!
“Try lots of different sports, because you never know what you may take to.
“I never would have chosen shooting and didn't envision it would ever go this far - I'm only a Paralympian because I gave it a shot... If you'll pardon the pun!
“Being in the British team has given me a lot of direction and purpose. Alongside my BA and MA, I have been able to make a career out of sport, which I never thought I would be able to do.
“It's changed my life in that it's broadened my horizons, given me friends from all around the world and shown me countries I may never have visited.
“Being part of ParalympicsGB has given me confidence and pride after what could have been a real downturn in my life. It has taught me that a positive mindset can lead to great things.”
The Paralympics are due to take place 29 August - 5 September this year in Tokyo, Japan and you’ll be able to follow Issy’s progress on Channel 4.
