After taking a break from sport and pursuing a teaching
career, she had the opportunity to trial a host of Paralympic
sports at a Team GB talent day in 2010 and fell in love with
sitting volleyball. She later captained Team GB to a bronze
medal in the London 2012 Olympics. After the Games, Emma
embarked on what she described as her “biggest challenge”
– taking up para-canoeing. After being inspired by rower Sir
Steve Redgrave who spent “20 years being the best” in the
business, she tried balancing training and part-time teaching.
However, her will to push herself to her “absolute limits”
prompted her move to full-time training.
In the run up to the Paralympics, Emma said she trains six
days per week. Now that is a lot of training! So how does
she stay motivated? Well, Emma sees everything as a choice,
rather than a sacrifice. She believes she is lucky to have the
opportunity to be a Paralympian, and therefore it’s only right
to grasp it with both hands. She admitted that training can get
in the way of a typical person’s lifestyle, but that it’s all worth
it in the end.
Emma branded her gold medal as her biggest achievement,
and it was a surreal moment when she was told that she could
achieve incredible success in the Paralympics. It just shows
that anything is possible.
The press conference oozed
inspiring messages like…
“We are not defined by our
disability; we are defined
by what we are doing.”
And Emma’s extremely humble
yet ferociously determined
attitude is something that
everyone can learn from.
Within four weeks of Emma
returning from Rio, training
had) already started to prepare her for Tokyo, where she hopes
to bring back the shiny 495-gram disc of gold and retain her
title. She’ll try to “make the boat faster every year”.
And if she manages this, then, well, anything is possible!
By Matthew Bates
Tel: 01604 210017 Email:
Website:
Connect with us!
@northacad
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Sports Interventions
Young Journalists
Interview: Emma Wiggs
Wiggs: “Plan the Paddle, Paddle the Plan”
Northampton Academy were truly honoured to welcome Paralympian Emma Wiggs into the school to deliver workshops to
a group of Year 11 boys and, during lunchtime, the school’s Sports Journalism Team jumped at the opportunity to interview
Emma in an organised press conference. Emma is a Paralympic gold-medallist and five-time world champion as a para-canoeist,
and was very gracious in responding to the school media.
To kick off the interview, the journalists asked Emma where her career began for her. She recalled having a “very sporty
childhood”. Emma and her twin brother were always outdoors, trying a variety of activities. Then she contracted a virus that
impaired the mobility of her lower limbs.
Emma Wiggs Visit
What could be more motivating than having a Paralympian
come and work with you for the day and discuss reaching
goals and overcoming challenges!
Well, here at Northampton Academy, we thought not a lot
could beat, that so Emma Wiggs (MBE, gold medal winner,
five-time World Champion para-canoeist and team GB
volleyball player at the London 2012 Olympics) came and
visited 30 lucky students to do exactly that.
The day was a huge success and the students were left hugely
motivated. Emma also allowed our budding young journalists
within the Academy to meet her and practise some essential
interview techniques too. You can read the full interview on the
next page.
