An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 Sport' means a lot to me. It is more than sport and if I can inspire a generation or even just one person to take up a sport and become an elite athlete I have done my job. "I often dreamed about representing my country. I took the sport seriously from the beginning, but it was years before I realised that I might be able to compete on an international level. "I train extremely hard now for this and sometimes, I have a love/ hate relationship with it. The days that aren't going well are the days I hate it, but I always get up the next morning and focus, smile and start again. I strive for perfection – and that's the part of the sport I love the most. "Up to now, the stand out moment for me was the London Para- lympic Games in 2012. With a lot of hard work, I got the opportu- nity to represent the people of Ireland as Ireland's first Paralympic Target Rifle Shooter at these Games. "In order to get there though, you really need to believe in your- self. You need to be focused. You need to train hard to constantly improve skills and it takes a dedication and love for the sport. You need to be mentally and physically able, for as the saying goes 'a healthy mind is a healthy body'. Most importantly, you have to enjoy the whole experience." "I have always had a competitive nature no matter what sport I was involved in. I wanted to be the best I can be. I never focus on negative criticism but I do listen to constructive criticism. My injuries are an obvious barrier but I don't focus on what I can't change. I try to find the correct balance between everything going on in my life, so for the moment, I'm focused on time management. "Now, my preparations are on target and to schedule. It is hard to believe the preparations for Rio started five years ago. Training is going to plan, but there have been down sides which I had to work through, for example, my equipment malfunctioned more than three times this year while competing internationally, but I dealt with it and moved on. "Looking back on my life to date, there are moments I would re- live and moments I would like to go back and change. For example, East Timor in 1999 was a moment I would definitely relive. To be able to help and return families to their villages and loved ones, when it seemed all hope was lost for them really defined my career as a soldier. "It's humbling to represent your country in any sport and com- petition but to represent your country at the biggest event in your sport and to hopefully now do it twice is a dream come true. "I would like to thank Pamela, my family and friends, my coach Ray and my manager Liam and all who follow and support me in my endeavours." this article was previously published on www.paralympics.ie (4th July 2016), and is kindly republished with their permission. http://bit.ly/seanbaldwin Paralympics ireland: "Leading elite athletes with a disability to Paralympics Games success" By 2025, Paralympics Ireland will have led Irish athletes to success at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and the 2024 Games, and will be a world leading National Paralympic Committee in the following key areas: Games Performance, Talent Identification and Development, Communications, Education and Events, Sports Science, Medi- cine and Classification and Governance and Operational Effectiveness. We want to use Rio 2016 to inspire more people with a disability to take part in grassroots parasport. We hope that increased recognition and involvement will help us develop a better talent 'pathway' with our member sports. This should ensure continued Irish medal success at Tokyo 2020. www.paralympics.ie

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