Read the transcript of a video interview with Paralympian Shelly Woods.
Hi! I’m Shelly Woods and I do wheelchair racing and I race mainly marathons.
I started racing when I was 15 years old. I’m now 22 so I’ve been racing for seven years now.
Basically I was a really active youngster and loved sport in general, and I started wheelchair racing at 15 and took it on from there and got better and better – and here I am now!
Beijing is going to be my first Paralympics and I’m really eager to go out there and race and do the job that I’ve trained to do and just be out there on the track. I can’t wait, I think it will be amazing.
I’ll be 26 in 2012 and hopefully right at the top of my game.
If it’s something you really want to do, then don’t give up because with a bit of commitment and determination you will get there if you really persist with it.
The feeling – there’s nothing like it, like you are there and you know that you’ve pushed your body to the limit in training and you’ve trained so hard and you’ve been out in all weathers and you just know it’s all paid off. And the fact that you’ve got to your goals that you’ve set and you’ve achieved them: it’s just fantastic and I love it.
Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe stand out to me, for everything they’ve achieved in their sport. Kelly Holmes never gave up through all the injuries she had and when she won the 800m gold medal in Athens she didn’t rest or celebrate – she just went straight back on the track and then won the 1500m. It was amazing to see.
