Dave Ross

Started: He took up the sport in Dublin, Ireland after recovering from a 2013 accident while playing rugby that resulted in his impairment. "I remember the [rugby accident] really well. Things were going well. We were leading, and I'd scored the first try. Then, about midway through the first half, I was on the ground trying to get back up when two players, one from either side, came down on top of me. After about a minute people realised I wasn't moving. I was conscious the whole time. I knew straight away that there was something seriously wrong because I couldn't move, but the shock and adrenaline were numbing the pain at that stage. Then I started to panic. I was conscious from the moment it happened until I was put on the operating table." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 26 Mar 2016) Reason: He got into wheelchair rugby shortly after leaving hospital following his accident. While he was recovering he also separated from his girlfriend, which he says was part of the reason he took up the sport. "It was the break-up that really pushed me to get out and about. I knew I had to. The first thing I did was join a wheelchair rugby club in Dublin and I found that really beneficial. I'd been out of hospital less than two weeks." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 26 Mar 2016) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook profile, 24 Jun 2024) Additional Info: PERSEVERANCE He first became involved with the Great Britain wheelchair rugby team in 2015, although he did not make his international debut with the team until 2022. "I've been in and out of the squad for a while, I got my first opportunity, which could have been as early as 2015. I was very young, I was about 21. It was probably a bit too soon for me to be involved with that squad. To be honest, the one most overwhelming feeling when I made my debut, was probably relief. It sounds strange, but whenever you kind of get in and out of the squad, and then you're in the squad, but not making selections for tournaments, you start to question whether or not you can actually achieve it. I remember my mum saying to me at one point, 'Do you think you're flogging a dead horse here?' At the time I said, 'Absolutely not, I'm 100% sure I can achieve this'. But you know, at the same time you start asking questions of yourself like, 'Am I going to achieve this? Can I do this?' I certainly have questioned it, but I didn't stop believing that I could. With a lot of hard work I finally made that GB debut and I've kicked on nicely since then. I'm building momentum. I'm probably at the point now [2024] where I'm playing the best rugby I've played in my career." (ruck.co.uk, 03 May 2024) MOVE TO LONDON He moved from Northern Ireland to London, England, in order to further his sporting career. "I'd been in and out of the [Great Britain] squad quite a few times, I was actually for a spell travelling from Belfast [in Northern Ireland] to the mainland to attend training camps, and literally flying in for them and staying for three, four or five days and flying back. I'd always do well, and always progress at the camp and pick things up, but then I'd be away from the team for a while, I'd be away from a higher level of training for a while, and then I'd come back. It was almost like, two steps forward, one step back every time. The conversation [with the Great Britain coach] at that stage was, 'You've got the potential to do this. But you're going to have to make the commitment to be in with a top level club and training with them more than once a week, and being around this higher level of player full-time. Otherwise, you're probably never going to retain the information and practise the skills we're teaching you.' So my brother, he moved to London when he was 18 for university, and he remained there for work, and still lives here. Now we've got a place together. It's been the move that allowed me to pursue this dream of being a Paralympian." (ruck.co.uk, 03 May 2024)