Laura Sugar

Started: She took up Para canoe in 2018. "I was approached by the Para canoe coaches in 2018 to try out the sport. I fell in love with kayaking and grew week on week, eventually making the switch fully across to the sport in 2019." (LinkedIn profile, 21 Jul 2023; saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk, 15 Aug 2019) Reason: She was inspired to get involved in Para sport watching the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. "I watched London 2012 while working at a kids camp - I was sat making clay models of alien athletes because it was space week. I was watching the discus and they always go quite close up on the feet in the circle and I realised, 'I've got that foot!' I knew I could never stand on one leg or things like that but I always found another way to get around it. I always had the attitude that it was never going to hold me back. Why should I shuffle around things when I can just give it a go anyway?" (sportspielonline.com, 05 Jan 2020; sports-insight.co.uk, 27 Oct 2018) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 15 Nov 2023) Awards: She was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2022 New Year Honours list. (britishcanoeing.org.uk, 01 Jan 2022) Additional Info: HOCKEY Before getting involved in Para sport she competed in non-Para hockey, and represented Wales in the sport. "Hockey was my main sport. My father was Welsh and I played for them up until the age of 21. I thought this was me and this was my career. But unless you're in the full Great Britain set-up you can't be a full-time [hockey] athlete, you have to pay to play so I became a PE teacher. I had to make the choice of playing for Wales in the European championships or competing for Great Britain in the world Para [athletics] championships and so I reluctantly put hockey on one side to concentrate on my sprinting. It was really hard to leave, but my hockey mates were really supportive." (bbc.com, 20 May 2024; sportspielonline.com, 05 Jan 2020; sports-insight.co.uk, 27 Oct 2018) OTHER ACTIVITIES She has served as an ambassador for the Mintridge Foundation, a British charity supporting mental and physical wellbeing in young people, and she has coached in schools. "Coaching in my spare time actually re-energises me. Having things to do away from training helps me keep a balance and an enthusiasm for my sport." (Sport at Uppingham School X profile, 03 May 2024; LinkedIn profile, 25 Mar 2024; sports-insight.co.uk, 27 Oct 2018) FURTHER EDUCATION She has completed a postgraduate diploma in physical education at the University of Birmingham in England. (LinkedIn profile, 25 Mar 2024)