Zak Skinner

Started: He began training in the sport at Tonbridge Athletic Club in England. (timeslocalnews.co.uk, 20 Sep 2022) Reason: While at school he would play rugby in the northern hemisphere winter and do athletics in the summer. He eventually chose to focus on athletics. "I did the high jump at lunchtime club and I think the thing that was appealing to me was that rugby was subjective, while in athletics it's black and white. You do a certain distance better than other people. You can also try and beat your personal best. Then I just turned up to the local track. [At the club] we had influences from an older age bracket which definitely drove me because I was like, 'I want to be like them'. So I just copied them. Then I found out I could actually get into Para sport." (theathleteplace.com, 07 Feb 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (compaid.org.uk, 01 Sep 2022) Additional Info: DJ AND MUSIC PRODUCER He has worked as a disc jockey at a nightclub in Loughborough, England, having begun DJing as a hobby during his first year at university. He has also produced his own music under the name Skinner. "I'm quite an avid believer in not having all your eggs in one basket. I think there are some athletes who have so much focus and pressure riding on their athletics that when that doesn't go right, they feel that they have lost everything. I feel like having this other passion outside sport is so healthy. It doesn't detract from the sport, but actually makes you better. I don't think people see that sometimes a distraction can be a positive and not a negative. It gave me that same sort of rush as athletics, that same endorphin boost, which just got me hooked on it. I'm not set on it being a career, as if I want to go and be the next massive DJ. But I think I will always have that passion for it and it will be just a case of seeing where it goes. If it doesn't take off, my passion still lies in being a Paralympic champion first." (Instagram profile, 20 Sep 2023; Skinner Instagram profile, 13 Jun 2023; bbc.co.uk, 05 Nov 2019) OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as an ambassador for Compaid, a charity that helps vulnerable people in Kent, England. "It was an easy decision for me to want to link with Compaid, especially as it is also local to where I have grown up and began my athletics career." (timeslocalnews.co.uk, 20 Sep 2022; compaid.org.uk, 01 Sep 2022)

Sporting Relatives: His father Micky Skinner represented England in rugby union. He competed at the World Cup in 1987 and 1991, finishing runner-up in 1991. (telegraph.co.uk, 22 Jul 2017)