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Sometimes it feels like the Paralympics was all just yesterday - sometimes it feels like it was a lifetime ago. A lot's happened in the last year since we were on the Paralympic podium. I've been doing lots of other sailing and a few other things, which has been good. I've had a nice year to chill out a bit, but now I'm fully ready and pumped to give it everything again ready for Rio in 2016 and we made a great first step last weekend when we won our fifth straight SKUD World Championship out in Ireland. I still have mixed emotions about our bronze medal. Obviously I'm very proud to have a med ..read more

Just over a year ago, I achieved my ultimate dream: two shiny London 2012 Paralympic gold medals that were all mine to keep forever. Looking back on those incredible moments, I still can't believe that a girl from a small town in Yorkshire has gone on to do and see some truly amazing things. My journey into elite sport started at the UK School Games in Coventry in 2007. Back then I was a nervous 14-year-old heading to my first major multisport competition to give it my all in the seated discus competition. Heading to a big event when you're so young made me feel really anxious, as I was respon ..read more

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were an astounding success and in the case of my sport, archery, there has been a definite increase in people interested in the sport as a result. Archery's increased popularity is clear to see at my club, Severn Archers, in Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire. When there is the option at archery events for spectators to have a go themselves this is always popular. However, since the Games took place there is now a constant stream of enthusiastic attendees keen to try their hand at the sport since seeing it televised during London 2012. The new Disney ..read more

For someone whose only previous experience was the truly unique one of a home summer Games at London 2012, a week spent attending the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee's Paralympic Games Briefing Seminar was always going to contain some new, and extreme, moments.  As I reflect on the time just gone, however, I am not sure I was quite prepared for just how exciting and different it would be. Or how much, as the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association (BPA), I am now looking forward to my first Winter Games. There are things that were very different.  The geography, environ ..read more

After the success of both the Paralympic and Olympic Games in 2012, my life has changed quite dramatically. The profile of the Games and the interviews and appearances afterwards have led to myself and other Paralympic athletes being more widely recognised than ever before. Paralympic sports are still in the public eye and I want to do my part to ensure that it stays this way. Six months on from the Games, I feel that sport has brought people of all ages and abilities together and I feel that the Olympic legacy of "inspiring a generation" has really made an impact on young people's lives. When ..read more

"Nothing can really compare with the elation of competing for your country at a Paralympic Games and I am living proof that with determination and sacrifice you can fulfil your dream." These were some of the inspiring words from ParalympicsGB silver medal hand-cyclist Karen Darke used to help launch a major talent recruitment scheme in the UK last week. Karen only took up cycling after Beijing, inspired by the ParalympicsGB team there, yet was still able to make the podium in London due to her inherent ability and incredible dedication within the GB Para-Cycling world class programme. As we tu ..read more