Women in Sport with Katie Catherall

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics well under-way, the incredible athletes who have stepped up to represent Team GB have once again brought the world together through sport, in a time when people couldn’t feel further apart.

Athens 1896 was the first Games of the modern Olympics, seeing 280 athletes, all male, compete from 12 countries.

However, the introduction of the Paralympic Games followed much later, with the introduction of a sports competition for British World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries in England in 1948.

The evolution of the modern Paralympics has been phenomenal, providing adaptive athletes with the chance to show their worth and compete with the world’s best.

Hazel Chaisty is beyond proud to have been selected for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, with the talented bowwoman being one of four athletes that will take centre stage in Japan.

The 48-year-old from Glossop has been shooting for the past 9 years, having an involvement with Archery GB for the last 7.

“I’m super excited and I’m not apprehensive because I’ve put 7 years’ worth of training in so I feel that I can do my best,” she says.

Despite having trained relentlessly for several years, nothing could’ve prepared her for the indescribable feeling she encountered when she was handed her Tokyo dream by the Chef de Mission, Penny Briscoe.

“It was an incredible moment, it really was the cherry on top of the cake,” she says.

Now the gifted archer is setting her sights on the games, saying she is ready to go there and give it her best.

“If giving it all I’ve got good enough then that’s fantastic but if not, then I’ll try again for Paris!

“If I can come away from it thinking I’ve done my best then I really don’t mind how I finish.,” she says.

Hazel has also recently attended an event in Czech Republic in which she finished 9th, a position which she believes is an excellent starting point. This competition also was invaluable in learning where she needed to concentrate her training.

“There was lots that I managed to bring home to tweak ahead of Tokyo and that’s what Czech was for, just to see where I’m at currently and I’m really happy with it,” she says.

Having been involved within a relatively small sport, Hazel is used to the close support of her fellow archers but being amid Team GB in Tokyo is something she is desperately excited for.

“We’re all one big team at Paralympics GB and I’m only used to my small team of archers around me so I can’t wait to feel that big sense of comradery,” she says.

For any aspiring athlete, having the opportunity to represent your nation in an Olympic or Paralympic Games is the pinnacle of the sport and Hazel is ready to hit her target in Tokyo.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics is set to commence on 24 August, a date which will see some of the best athletes in the world showing just why they love their sport.

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