London 2012 Paralympian Emma Wiggs talks to us on #ThankYouThursday about National Lottery funding and her journey to Rio 2016
I haven’t actually won the Lottery but it feels like it. Becoming a National Lottery Funded Great Britain athlete is like winning the jackpot to me.
But there the similarities end. I’m not a millionaire sitting on a yacht in some crystal blue ocean. Most days like everyone else, we battle the British weather in kayaks and canoes at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. Nevertheless, we all count ourselves incredibly lucky to be elite athletes, working hard every day to make our boats go faster.
I wonder when people buy a National Lottery ticket whether they really know how much help they give to athletes like us. Do they really know that they are indirectly now part of an athlete’s quest to become the best in the world? Do they really know that the life-changing effects that funding from the National Lottery provides?
There is nothing special about me; I am just an ordinary person trying to do everything I can to be the best athlete I can be. But juggling work commitments and training is tough. The difference between simply getting it done and actually putting yourself on top of the world is huge and funding plays a big part in bridging the gap.
National Lottery funding gives me the opportunity to train six days a week with my entire focus being on making my boat go faster. It allows me to call on specialist sports science and medicine practitioners who work their magic to get our bodies into a physical condition we could only ever have imagined. They fix us when we ‘break’ and together, with the talented coaches work everyday to ensure as a nation, Britain are pushing all the boundaries that elite disability present.
The freedom of National Lottery Funding means that we can make decisions purely on producing the best possible performance, free from the worry of juggling work and training.
You were probably there cheering us on at London 2012, either there in person or screaming at the television. With just under a year to go until Rio, the work of the National Lottery has never been more important for Great Britain’s Athletes.
Let’s be clear; this isn’t a job, this is a cause and we make the sacrifices you would expect for such a privileged position. We’re all aware of the huge responsibility we have to be the best we can be on every single day.
We love it and we want to make you proud. Thank you.
#ThankYouThursday