Beijing gold medallist Paralympic archer Danielle Brown is the first ever disabled athlete to win gold for Team England in an able-bodied event at the Commonwealth Games. Danielle suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy in her feet, which means she is constantly in chronic pain. Sportsister caught up with the inspirational 24-year-old, before she moved into the Olympic village.
How are you feeling ahead of the Games?
For me this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’ve trained really hard for it. I know I’ve done everything I can and I just want to enjoy every single moment of being there.
Do you think you’ll be able to stay focussed once you’re in the Olympic village?
Yeah, I think the great thing about being a multi-sport event is that everybody’s doing the same thing but you get to meet new people and learn about the different sports as well. It’s really inspirational when people start competing and you want to do your bit and add medals to the table.
You’ve spoken before about Paralympic athletes not always getting the recognition they deserve. Are you hoping as it’s a home Games, people might take a bit more notice?
I think there’s definitely been an improvement and Channel 4’s done an amazing job, trying to explain Paralympic sport and promoting the athletes beforehand. Hopefully it’s one of those things that can continue because I think it has been a definite breakthrough.
When you qualified for the able bodied event you received more interest from sponsors. Are you hoping that the Games will help put disability sport on more equal ground with able bodied sport?
I definitely hope so. I’ve done a few of the Channel 4 videos and I’ve been able to send that to my sponsors and it’s showing them that Paralympic sport’s not a sort of Mickey Mouse tournament. I don’t know if that’s how they view it but they certainly don’t view it as important as able bodied.
There’s been a lot of debate about Oscar Pistorius being able to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics, what’s your take on it?
I compete with the able bodied on a regular basis and I’m still shooting a bow, I’m just doing it sat down. Obviously you’re going to get people who say ‘actually that’s not fair, you’re cheating because you’re more stable’ but I’m using half my body to do the same thing they’re using a full body to do and also I’m doing it in chronic pain.
Would you like to see the Paralympics and the Olympics merged in future, or do you prefer them to have their two separate identities?
I think in a way having two separate identities is better because if you start to merge them, the disabled sports people would get lost. Doing it separately means the media can concentrate on the Paralympics and fully devote their attention to it, rather than just focussing on the able bodied.
To someone who might not have watched the Paralympics before – what would you say to encourage them to tune in?
I think the Paralympics shows what the word ‘ability’ means more so than any other sport. We’re doing the same sports but we’re doing them with disabilities and I find that very inspirational.
Now we’ve got a few questions from some Sportsister readers…
Any advice to archery newbies?
For me the main thing is to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it there’s no point doing it. So if you do really enjoy it, you’re going to want to work hard at it because that’s what it needs, it needs a lot of time and dedication to do well.
Would you say that archery is a natural talent or can it be taught?
I think it’s easier if you have natural talent but I think there’s no reason why if you set your mind to it, you can’t become really good. It might not be as easy but I think you can definitely get there.
Finally, how are you going to feel knowing that the stands will be packed and all supporting you?
I think that’s going to be amazing and I just need to enjoy every single moment of it. I love shooting and I love competing and I think with so many people behind me, it’s just going to make it extra special.
Danielle’s event, the Women’s Individual Compound (Open), begins on Thursday the 30th of August, from 10:00am.
Sophia Smith, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
