WEBVTT
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Who would have thought I'd be flying above the Gawa Peninsula with the paragliding club I was part of?
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Fell from about 40 feet on the grass and landed feet first and as I landed then unfortunately I snapped my back.
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To be a little bit athlete as a person who's fit and healthy is one thing but to take on that challenge when you've got a disability that's just something else.
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The last month in hospital they snapped me on an indoor bike and it had to straps.
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So I tucked my feet in and I said to Martin, my feet don't work.
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I need to do a hang on and it came back with a roller bandage.
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And it bandaged my feet to the pedal so they couldn't slip off.
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And I'm pedaling in this gym and I'm thinking, oh my god.
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Tears.
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Hello and welcome to Let Them Fly with me, Heather Harris.
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If you've ever wondered whether your child is on the right path, this podcast is for you.
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Each week we share stories that remind us as just how resilient people can be.
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Today I'm joined by Paralympic gold medalist and MB Mark Colburn, who, after a life-changing accident, Mark rebuilt his life to become a world champion.
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But this conversation isn't just about medals, it's about bouncing back, believing in yourself, and helping children discover that setbacks don't have to define their future.
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Mark, welcome to Let Them Fly.
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My pleasure.
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Thank you for the invitation.
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It's always a joy to have a Welshman on, as you know.
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It's like c countrymen, we we just get on, don't we?
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Yes, very much so.
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So, Mark, tell us a little bit about yourself.
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Tell us a little bit about your story.
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Yes, very much.
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Um, born and bred in South Wales in the wonderful town of Tradigar, which is a miner's town or a steel town.
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And I guess it was the uh, you know, the environment that made Great Britain, you know, what it is today with the steel that was produced, you know, in Ebervale and obviously the ironworks of Tradiga.
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But I guess Tradiga was famous for one person, you know, in um in my history books, and that was Anyran Bevan, who was, for the audience who doesn't know, was the founder of the NHS.
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So Anyiron Bevan obviously put Tradiga um you know on the map, you know, for sure.
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And I guess growing up in the 70s and the 80s, being prevalent to health and well-being, you know, and sport and activity and movement.
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So growing up with no brothers or sisters, you know, obviously I had to fight my own battles, as they say, and I loved it.
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You know, the, you know, the the valleys for me is still running through my, you know, through my DNA today.
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So it was a great childhood, loved school, lots of sport, you know, which was a a great feeling for me.
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I got married at 21, actually.
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Um, and then my daughter then arrived in 1994, so you know, she's now 32 and about an inch taller than me, actually.
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So how time flies.
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But great childhood.
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Um, obviously saw the valleys and certainly South Wales go through a lot of different transitions from the heavy industries to the coal mines to the pits to the steelworks, and then unfortunately saw it all, you know, dissipate away.
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Yeah, you know, so it was um yeah, it was a hell of a hell of a childhood to say the least.
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There's something very, very wonderful about growing up in a small town or village in Wales where everybody knows everyone else.
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So tell me, how did you go from a small town boy in Wales to gold Olympic champion?
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Yeah, yeah, I keep pinching, keep pinching myself now, actually.
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I think the the journey started in 1980 when my late father and I was watching Daly Thompson on the TV, watching, you know, Daly Thompson win his gold medal at the uh the Moscow Olympics.
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And I remember saying to my dad, how come this guy is so good?
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Because I was into sport, I was playing rugby football for the county, and my dad, God love him, said, Well, he eats all his greens, Mark, and he drinks lots of water, and he goes to bed really early.
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And I'm sat there as a cheeky 10-year-old child thinking, I love my dad unconditionally, but what a load of nonsense, you know?
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What a load of nonsense.
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And yet, then four years later, when I watched Daily Thompson from the same sofa win another gold medal in the LA Olympics in the decathlon, I genuinely thought my dad had cracked the code to win the Olympic gold medal.
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So at that point, I became coachable.
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I started listening to my peers, you know, even though I always listened to my dad.
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But my dad was a crane driver.
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I thought, what does my dad know about Olympic sport?
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But obviously, as we all know, my dad was a visionary, you know, he certainly was.
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So that incentive, that intrinsic motivation, allowed me to almost fall in love with movement.
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And little did I know, then I became obsessed with dopamine, obviously, you know, later on in life.
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So training, playing sports, you know, racing, it just it just came normal and natural to me, you know.
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So if we fast forward, as I said, I got married when I was 21.
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My wife and I then decided, you know, 14 years later, to part company.
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So I became divorced in 2005.
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And the job I had was in the capital of Wales, you know, in Cardiff.
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So I moved to Cardiff working for a PLC company, and I guess it was just a a new form of life for me, you know, living in a big city, going from a very small mining town of 7,000 people to now live in a city with 300,000 people, you know.
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And it was a great self-development phase for me, you know, working for this PLC company, big salary company car, weekends off, which meant that I could then do more sport, race in triathlon, rock climbing.
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And then in 2008, I qualified as a paragliding pilot because that was one of my dreams, to get that Peter Pan feel in, that moment when your feet leave the floor.
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And I guess a year later, you know, who would have, who would have thought I'd be flying above the Gowa Peninsula, um, above Swansea, about 40 feet above the ground with the paragliding club I was part of.
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And I guess I just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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My canopy, you know, I had a full collapse, fell from about 40 feet onto grass and landed feet first, and as I landed, then unfortunately I snapped my back.
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So, and they say life begins at 40, Heather, and it certainly did for me.
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In a very different way.
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So before you had your accident, were you when you were doing taking part in sports, were you competitive?
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Yeah, I played volleyball for Wales when I was 20 for three years.
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Yeah.
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I'll never forget, you know, making that transition from rugby football athletics into you know what I regard as a high-impact sport, you know, which is volleyball.
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And I loved three things.
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I loved the competitiveness for sure, the team ethos, you know, of those players, you know, basically gelling and then representing my country, you know, in three British championships was yeah, it was just an incredible feeling.
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Was this indoor Welsh volleyball or was this on the beach in the skimpy?
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No, no, don't don't give your audience that picture, please.
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Um we we yes, it was indoor, but we did play outdoor tournaments.
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Um, and we played Dunning Pool in Dorset in the UK, which was great fun.
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Um, just a weekend festival of volleyball and partying.
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It's quite volleyball's quite hard.
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It's very difficult, yeah, very difficult.
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And I was lucky to go to to a British um trial, a British Olympic trial in Lillershaw in the UK, the uh Olympic training camp.
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And I I'll never forget walking in for this one-week training camp, 1.83 metres tall or six foot one, and being the shortest person there.
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And I'm looking round at these giants, you know, and I just said, Oh my gosh, I'm up against it, you know.
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But I loved it, it was great fun.
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Amazing, and that's that's quite um you've almost had two Olympic opportunities there.
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Obviously, you had your accident, and how did it feel?
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Because you were paralyzed in a bed, probably with a prognosis of not being able to walk.
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How did that feel?
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Yeah, I think the first three months was a state of confusion.
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Because, you know, when you, for instance, for your audience, if you break an arm or a leg, normally three or four or five months the cast comes off, you do your real rehabilitation, you go back to work or school or whatever.
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But when you damage the spinal cord, even the consultants like, I really don't know what's going to happen, you know.
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And that for me was worse, you know.
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So I spent 94 days on my back, staring at the ceiling, no motion, no feeling, just thinking, well, this is probably the end, you know.
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Whereas I've had that 25 years of sport, movement, activity, health, and well-being, and now all of a sudden it stopped.
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And to have all of that removed out of my life, I think it was probably more difficult than the movement, if that makes sense, you know.
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Um, but a big, you know, a big thanks and a big help to the NHS in Cardiff, you know, in Rookwood Hospital, to go through that rehabilitation phase, six months in total.
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Yeah.
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Um, and I'll never forget, you know, leaving Rookwood Hospital when my late father came to collect me, and Mr.
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Inman, who was the consultant who I'd got to know really, really well, you know, told him all about my life, my movement, my sport, etc.
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And I'll never forget him saying to my dad when my dad came to collect me, look after him.
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He's a good one.
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Oh.
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Oh, that's so lovely.
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So, at what point in that sort of 94 days did you know that you'd even be able to walk again?
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Well, they finally lifted me out of the hospital bed with a hoist, and then they give you a Zimmer frame, a walk-in frame.
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Um it had my name on it.
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It was really embarrassing.
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But it was just that one step towards the future, you know.
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And then going through the rehabilitation of learning to walk with what they call lower leg paralysis.
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So only half of my legs work, okay?
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So the main primary muscles, my glutes, hamstrings, feet, and calves, they don't work.
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So all of my drive and functionality is actually from my quads and my hip flexors, which is why I walk like Charlie Chaplin, which is fine, you know.
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It's always good to have a personality.
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100%, you know, always look on the positive.
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Yeah.
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So it was at that moment when I went from my walk-in frame onto the crutches, and then I thought that's an improvement, yeah, you know, rather than still on this frame, you know.
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And when I got to the point where I was, I suppose, functional, um, where I could go to the shower, I could go to the bathroom on my crutches using what they call orthosis.
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Um, because I've got drop feet, you know, or drop foot in both feet, I have to wear supports to fix my feet.
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So all of a sudden, then you become self-functional.
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And then I did my drive-in test.
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Literally, the last week I'm in hospital, and I'll never forget speaking to the instructor.
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After I'd done the one-hour test, he signed me as a pass.
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Great, thank you.
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And he said, Oh, I just need to complete the, you know, the box at the bottom with your disability.
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Lower leg paralysis, broke my back at T12.
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I said, and by the way, my feet don't work.
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And he went, Oh my gosh, I'm glad you told me now, and not at the beginning, because he was concerned, you know?
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Yeah.
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So it's it's having that personal ability to be functional even when you have a disability.
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Yeah.
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But you've gone, I mean, what a remarkable story.
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So you've gone from almost no hope, not even know if you're going to walk, to Paralympic gold medalist for cycling.
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At what point in your journey did you ever think that was going to be possible?
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I think in the beginning, you know, when I left hospital, I started cycling with a disability.
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How did you know you could cycle?
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The last month in hospital, they sat me on an indoor bike.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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And it has toe straps.
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So I put my feet in.
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Remember, I'm wearing these supports.
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And I said to Martin, I'll never forget Martin, who was the physio sort of helper.
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I said, Hang on, my feet don't work.
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Because if I start to push, my feet are going to fall out to the toe straps.
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And he said, Oh, hang on.
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And he came back with a roller bandage and he bandaged my feet to the pedals so they couldn't slip off.
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True story.
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And I'm peddling in this gym and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, this now starts to feel normal.
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Yeah.
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Does that make sense?
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Did you cycle?
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Were you a cyclist before of any shape?
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I've been cycling since I was about eight.
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Okay.
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So a long, long competitively.
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Well, I raced triathlon for about 10 years, which is the Welsh Triathlon League.
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So I guess I was a strong cyclist, but if you think of triathlon as swim, psycho, run, it's it's good to be the best of all averages, if that makes sense, you know.
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And I loved it.
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You know, I was top 20 in Wales for my age group, which is okay, which is fine.
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But as I said in the beginning, my my journey of sport started 1980 watching Daily Thompson.
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Okay.
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So that was the intrinsic desire to maybe one day become a professional athlete.
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Does that make sense?
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It was just a dream.
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It was just a thought and a feeling.
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But this is the kicker.
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After leaving hospital, I went to meet Disability Sport Wales in Cardiff, which is a wonderful charity that helps disabled people of all ages, children all up to, you know, the oldies like me.
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And help those people to be coached in sport, any sport, any Paralympic sport.
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Okay.
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And I suddenly realized that I was actually in an environment with other people who were also disabled.
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Yeah.
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Of all ages.
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Does that make sense?
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Was it difficult to think of yourself as disabled?
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The first six to nine months was heartbreaking.
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That must be a real acceptance difficulty.
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And one of the things that they do in hospital, which is what they have to do for rehabilitation, they've got the parallel bars that you see in the Olympics, but they're about this far off the floor.
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So you hold on, and then you have to walk, but hold on.
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Okay?
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So it's all about functionality.
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But what they put in front of you is a mirror.
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Because you have to see your legs moving because I couldn't feel my legs.
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They were almost working on their own.
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And I'll never forget the physio I had is a lovely lady called Elena.
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And she's by my side and she's talking me through it.
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And I'm looking at my feet, and then all of a sudden I looked up big mistake.
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Yeah.
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I don't know, the mirror was probably four foot, but then all of a sudden I could see my eyes, and then I could see me.
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And then it becomes real.
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Yeah.
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Because when you're going through that rehabilitation, it doesn't feel like it's you.
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Yeah.
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Does that make sense?
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Because you're just infunctional.
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But all of a sudden, I see me.
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And I'm like, tears, palpitations.
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I'm like, and almost not that I went into a state of breaking down, but but it's like, oh my gosh, I didn't expect that.
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You know?
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Yeah.
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So dealing with that all through, then leaving hospital, getting back on the bike.
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And my dad, God love him, he was a savior.
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And I just said to him, just come and help me.
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Help me get onto the bike.
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I can clip in with my cycling shoes, push me off, wait, I'll be back in two hours.
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And he used to take the paper to Abergavenny, true story.
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And he down to the Hardwick pub, I'll never forget.
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And he'd sit there for two hours just reading the paper.
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Oh bless him.
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And I would go and do my mileage, come back, and then he'd go, right, Yuricans.
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And he'd wait for me and help me back off the bite.
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So I knew if I got myself fit and healthy and strong again, I could maybe go back to work.
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Okay.
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Because that was the that was the process.
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Yeah.
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And then my cycling coach at the time, Neil Smith, who was just even to this day, I can't thank him enough.
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He said to me one day in the velodrome, we were doing just some normal training.
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He said, Oh, we have um we have a race in about four or five months' time in the velodrome.
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He said, You're pretty strong.
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Okay.
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Would you like to enter?
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I said, Yeah.
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Heather, I didn't even think about it.
00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:46.660
I'd almost said yes and then thought, did I just say yes?
00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:47.379
Amazing.
00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.099
I thought I knew.
00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:50.180
And that's a really difficult decision to make.
00:17:50.420 --> 00:17:52.500
I think it's a competitive edge that people have.
00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:52.980
Okay.
00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:56.819
So say yes, then figure out how to do it, basically, you know.
00:17:57.379 --> 00:18:04.579
And then in May 2010, one year after my accident, I raced in the Newport Velodrome, and it was an international event.
00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:11.779
And the two races I raced in, I won both races, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy, you know.
00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:18.740
And then a month later, we raised money for the Wales Air Ambulance who treated me on the day of my crash.
00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:31.700
And I'll never forget, putting these two races on Facebook, and the the paramedic who treated me, you know, he rang me and he said, Oh, would you like to cycle around Wales with us to raise money for the air ambulance?
00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:33.460
I said, Yeah, I'm in.
00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:36.500
He said, Well, it's 900 kilometres in a week.
00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:37.059
Oh.
00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:40.099
I said, Did you just say 900?
00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:43.539
Now, if anybody knows Wales, it's not 900 flat.
00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:45.859
It's not, it's not flat, you know.
00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:48.019
But I thought, Heather, do you know what?
00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:49.619
I gotta do this.
00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:50.980
This guy saved my life.
00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:51.379
Yeah.
00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:54.740
The least I can do is give back just the support.
00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.259
So we did the ride.
00:18:56.500 --> 00:19:01.059
We raised about 100,000 dirum, you know, for the the air ambulance.
00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:06.019
And on the first day, I'll never forget meeting a guy who I'd never met before.
00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:08.740
And he's asking me questions, what's wrong with your legs?
00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:16.900
Because I'm on crutches, explained, broke my back, lower leg paralysis, but I can cycle because my quads and my hip flexors work.
00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:21.220
So we had a conversation for about 20 minutes.
00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:25.059
And he said, Can I um can I ask you one more question?
00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:26.099
I said, Yeah, of course.
00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:31.619
Now this was June 2010, two years before the Olympics.
00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:35.779
He said, Are you training for the Paralympics in London in two years' time?
00:19:37.379 --> 00:19:38.259
I said, No.
00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:40.180
Why the hell would I do that?
00:19:40.819 --> 00:19:42.099
He said, I think you should.
00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:43.619
And that was it.
00:19:44.259 --> 00:19:48.900
The light bulb moment, and I thought, oh my gosh, I've just gotta try.
00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:49.859
I've gotta try.
00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.980
If I get there, great.
00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:52.900
If I don't get there, so what?
00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:54.019
At least I tried.
00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.059
So we went home after the week.
00:19:57.379 --> 00:19:59.779
Told my parents, I'll never forget my dad's face.
00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:01.539
He said, How was the week?
00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:02.420
I said I was amazing.
00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:04.019
I met all these famous people.
00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:07.539
I said, Have a guess what I'm gonna start doing next week.
00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:09.700
What's that, Mark?
00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:12.900
I said, I'm gonna start training for the Paralympics.
00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:14.660
Para what?
00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:19.859
I said, you know, the Paralympics, the Olympics for disabled people like me.
00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:22.099
And he turns to my mother, Margaret.
00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:25.220
He said, Margaret have a word with your boy.
00:20:25.379 --> 00:20:26.740
I think he's lost it.
00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:31.779
And I said, Look, I gotta try.
00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:32.900
If I get there, great.
00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.059
If I don't, at least I've tried.
00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:35.379
Yeah.
00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:38.099
And I said, the only thing I ask is your support.
00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:43.779
Now you either get behind me, okay, or you get out of my way because I'm serious.
00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:44.259
Yeah.
00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:50.019
Because this opportunity is only gonna happen once, you know, and God loving me supported me.
00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:53.140
And within a year I got selected by British Cycling.
00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:54.900
That's absolutely a crazy journey.
00:20:55.299 --> 00:21:07.460
I think it's I mean, to be an Olympic or to be um an Olympic athlete as an as a person who's fit and healthy is one thing, but to take on that challenge when you've got a disability, that's just something else.
00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:21.299
Yeah, and I think the um the you know, the journey of having that accident, going through that, you know, really serious mental health journey in hospital, which I've parked, I've put behind me, I've come through it.
00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:24.900
You know, I don't need to be that person anymore, you know.
00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:41.299
Um, but then I guess being selected by the Olympic program, having always been into health and well-being, for me to go and do, you know, I don't know, 120 kilometers on the bike, I never felt myself saying no.
00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:42.420
Yeah.
00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:44.660
You know, it was always like, okay.
00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:52.099
So you then become coachable, then you start learning from the best coaches in the world, because I wasn't the expert.
00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:52.500
Yeah.
00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:57.779
You know, I didn't know anything about physiology, biomechanics, diet, lifestyle.
00:21:57.940 --> 00:22:00.740
Not to that level, you know, for sure.
00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:07.779
And then in February 2012, seven months before the Olympics, I raced in the world championships in Los Angeles.
00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:12.579
And became a world champion in the three kilometer pursuit in the velodrome.
00:22:12.819 --> 00:22:21.779
And that for me then was the realization to answer your question: how good do you think you are, or how good do you think you need to be?
00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:26.740
Because I was just on this progression of improvement, you know, month after month after month.
00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:32.180
What was the main thing you learned from the Olympic um sort of minds coaches, I guess?
00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:33.940
Gosh, how long have you got?
00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:35.059
Not long.
00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:46.259
Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, to pick one thing, I would honestly say, is to give a hundred percent in whatever you do and accept the outcome.
00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:46.819
Okay.
00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:47.460
Okay.
00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:52.019
Now, if you race against ten people and you finish last, that's okay.
00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:53.220
Genuinely.
00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:53.539
Yeah.
00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.379
As long as you give a hundred percent.
00:22:55.779 --> 00:23:02.740
Because my coach for the Olympic team for British cycling, Tom Stanton, he understood how I ticked.
00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.779
And he knew everything I did was a hundred percent.
00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:06.339
Okay.
00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:10.339
And he always said to me, Well done, that was amazing.
00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:13.940
He never said, Oh, come on, yeah, you can do better than that.
00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:17.700
Because he knew it was 100% or go home, you know.
00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:32.259
So, and that was a big thanks to Professor Steve Peters, the sports psychologist, who instilled into all the Olympic athletes and Paralympic athletes to give 100% in what you do and then accept the outcome.
00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.059
Yeah.
00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:33.940
Yeah.
00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:36.980
Mark, unfortunately, we're out of time today.
00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:41.299
You obviously went on and won your gold medal, which we're just going to have a look at before.
00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:57.460
Um, but I just want one of the things I think the listeners need to know, and we're very, very lucky, is that you take this into schools and you explain to children about resilience, about um achieving, about giving 100%, and you put that real Olympic mindset out there.
00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:02.180
And I think as as a population within Jubai, we're very, very lucky that you do that.
00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:07.059
And as you know, um, we have one last question that we ask everyone.
00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:15.619
If you could go back in time with everything you know, your accident, pre-accident, with what's the one piece of advice you'd give your seven-year-old self?
00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:23.539
Now the obvious answer is don't go paragliding.
00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:24.660
I think that's a very good one.
00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:25.299
I like that one.
00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:27.619
A lot of mums will be holding on to that one.
00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:31.299
But I think that wouldn't be the that wouldn't be the advice, actually.
00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:33.140
Honestly, it wouldn't.
00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:36.980
I think the advice at seven, oh my gosh.
00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:40.819
I think the advice I would give myself is to listen.
00:24:41.220 --> 00:24:45.539
Yeah, to listen to the experts earlier on in my life.
00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:45.940
Okay.
00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:46.819
Does that make sense?
00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:48.740
I would have been cuted, don't go paradoxically.
00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:53.619
Because I got to about 14, 16, 18 years of age before I really started to listen.
00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:53.940
Okay.
00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:56.099
You know, to those people around me.
00:24:56.339 --> 00:25:07.940
And to go into the Olympics, having everything, you know, everything I've gone through, I still see this medal now, and I still say to myself, I didn't win it with great luck.
00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:10.099
It was with great health.
00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:21.059
And that health comes under, you know, the pillars of, and we've spoken about this mental energy, you know, diet, lifestyle, sleep, hydration.
00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:25.539
You know, it's not just motivation, you know, it's not, it's not just discipline.
00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:27.539
It's it's all of the above.
00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:28.019
Yeah.
00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:28.740
You know.
00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:30.579
Mark, thank you very much.
00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.379
I'm very lucky that I can call you one of my friends.
00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:37.700
And every single time we meet, I leave inspired by you once again.
00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:40.019
So thank you very much for joining us today.
00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:48.259
Your contacts are below, and I know you're rolling out this amazing program for children, mindset, achievement.
00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:50.740
Um, and that's starting in September in schools.
00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:54.180
So, you know, please do have a look at that because it's absolutely amazing.
00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:55.220
So thank you so much for.
00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.539
Thank you ever so much.
00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:12.980
Who would have thought I'd be flying above the Gawa Peninsula with the paragliding club I was part of?
00:00:13.219 --> 00:00:20.339
Fell from about 40 feet on the grass and landed feet first and as I landed then unfortunately I snapped my back.
00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:29.939
To be a little bit athlete as a person who's fit and healthy is one thing but to take on that challenge when you've got a disability that's just something else.
00:00:30.259 --> 00:00:34.740
The last month in hospital they snapped me on an indoor bike and it had to straps.
00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:38.500
So I tucked my feet in and I said to Martin, my feet don't work.
00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:42.019
I need to do a hang on and it came back with a roller bandage.
00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:46.179
And it bandaged my feet to the pedal so they couldn't slip off.
00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:49.219
And I'm pedaling in this gym and I'm thinking, oh my god.
00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:50.659
Tears.
00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:05.780
Hello and welcome to Let Them Fly with me, Heather Harris.
00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:09.939
If you've ever wondered whether your child is on the right path, this podcast is for you.
00:01:10.100 --> 00:01:14.420
Each week we share stories that remind us as just how resilient people can be.
00:01:14.579 --> 00:01:23.859
Today I'm joined by Paralympic gold medalist and MB Mark Colburn, who, after a life-changing accident, Mark rebuilt his life to become a world champion.
00:01:24.020 --> 00:01:33.300
But this conversation isn't just about medals, it's about bouncing back, believing in yourself, and helping children discover that setbacks don't have to define their future.
00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:35.540
Mark, welcome to Let Them Fly.
00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:36.420
My pleasure.
00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:37.780
Thank you for the invitation.
00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:41.700
It's always a joy to have a Welshman on, as you know.
00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:44.980
It's like c countrymen, we we just get on, don't we?
00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:46.100
Yes, very much so.
00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:48.420
So, Mark, tell us a little bit about yourself.
00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:50.100
Tell us a little bit about your story.
00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:51.300
Yes, very much.
00:01:51.380 --> 00:01:58.260
Um, born and bred in South Wales in the wonderful town of Tradigar, which is a miner's town or a steel town.
00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:09.060
And I guess it was the uh, you know, the environment that made Great Britain, you know, what it is today with the steel that was produced, you know, in Ebervale and obviously the ironworks of Tradiga.
00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:21.459
But I guess Tradiga was famous for one person, you know, in um in my history books, and that was Anyran Bevan, who was, for the audience who doesn't know, was the founder of the NHS.
00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:27.939
So Anyiron Bevan obviously put Tradiga um you know on the map, you know, for sure.
00:02:28.259 --> 00:02:36.659
And I guess growing up in the 70s and the 80s, being prevalent to health and well-being, you know, and sport and activity and movement.
00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:44.739
So growing up with no brothers or sisters, you know, obviously I had to fight my own battles, as they say, and I loved it.
00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:50.739
You know, the, you know, the the valleys for me is still running through my, you know, through my DNA today.
00:02:50.899 --> 00:02:58.019
So it was a great childhood, loved school, lots of sport, you know, which was a a great feeling for me.
00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:00.739
I got married at 21, actually.
00:03:00.899 --> 00:03:08.500
Um, and then my daughter then arrived in 1994, so you know, she's now 32 and about an inch taller than me, actually.
00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:10.099
So how time flies.
00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:11.939
But great childhood.
00:03:12.179 --> 00:03:27.859
Um, obviously saw the valleys and certainly South Wales go through a lot of different transitions from the heavy industries to the coal mines to the pits to the steelworks, and then unfortunately saw it all, you know, dissipate away.
00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:32.739
Yeah, you know, so it was um yeah, it was a hell of a hell of a childhood to say the least.
00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:39.379
There's something very, very wonderful about growing up in a small town or village in Wales where everybody knows everyone else.
00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:46.579
So tell me, how did you go from a small town boy in Wales to gold Olympic champion?
00:03:46.819 --> 00:03:50.419
Yeah, yeah, I keep pinching, keep pinching myself now, actually.
00:03:50.579 --> 00:04:02.979
I think the the journey started in 1980 when my late father and I was watching Daly Thompson on the TV, watching, you know, Daly Thompson win his gold medal at the uh the Moscow Olympics.
00:04:03.139 --> 00:04:06.340
And I remember saying to my dad, how come this guy is so good?
00:04:06.579 --> 00:04:20.019
Because I was into sport, I was playing rugby football for the county, and my dad, God love him, said, Well, he eats all his greens, Mark, and he drinks lots of water, and he goes to bed really early.
00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:28.980
And I'm sat there as a cheeky 10-year-old child thinking, I love my dad unconditionally, but what a load of nonsense, you know?
00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:30.420
What a load of nonsense.
00:04:30.659 --> 00:04:45.939
And yet, then four years later, when I watched Daily Thompson from the same sofa win another gold medal in the LA Olympics in the decathlon, I genuinely thought my dad had cracked the code to win the Olympic gold medal.
00:04:46.180 --> 00:04:48.740
So at that point, I became coachable.
00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:53.139
I started listening to my peers, you know, even though I always listened to my dad.
00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:55.060
But my dad was a crane driver.
00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:57.860
I thought, what does my dad know about Olympic sport?
00:04:58.659 --> 00:05:02.420
But obviously, as we all know, my dad was a visionary, you know, he certainly was.
00:05:02.659 --> 00:05:12.740
So that incentive, that intrinsic motivation, allowed me to almost fall in love with movement.
00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:19.379
And little did I know, then I became obsessed with dopamine, obviously, you know, later on in life.
00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:28.500
So training, playing sports, you know, racing, it just it just came normal and natural to me, you know.
00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:32.740
So if we fast forward, as I said, I got married when I was 21.
00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:37.779
My wife and I then decided, you know, 14 years later, to part company.
00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:41.060
So I became divorced in 2005.
00:05:41.219 --> 00:05:45.699
And the job I had was in the capital of Wales, you know, in Cardiff.
00:05:45.939 --> 00:06:03.539
So I moved to Cardiff working for a PLC company, and I guess it was just a a new form of life for me, you know, living in a big city, going from a very small mining town of 7,000 people to now live in a city with 300,000 people, you know.
00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:17.219
And it was a great self-development phase for me, you know, working for this PLC company, big salary company car, weekends off, which meant that I could then do more sport, race in triathlon, rock climbing.
00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:28.019
And then in 2008, I qualified as a paragliding pilot because that was one of my dreams, to get that Peter Pan feel in, that moment when your feet leave the floor.
00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:41.139
And I guess a year later, you know, who would have, who would have thought I'd be flying above the Gowa Peninsula, um, above Swansea, about 40 feet above the ground with the paragliding club I was part of.
00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:45.459
And I guess I just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:56.819
My canopy, you know, I had a full collapse, fell from about 40 feet onto grass and landed feet first, and as I landed, then unfortunately I snapped my back.
00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:01.379
So, and they say life begins at 40, Heather, and it certainly did for me.
00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:02.659
In a very different way.
00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:08.180
So before you had your accident, were you when you were doing taking part in sports, were you competitive?
00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:12.099
Yeah, I played volleyball for Wales when I was 20 for three years.
00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:12.659
Yeah.
00:07:12.819 --> 00:07:22.420
I'll never forget, you know, making that transition from rugby football athletics into you know what I regard as a high-impact sport, you know, which is volleyball.
00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:23.939
And I loved three things.
00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:37.459
I loved the competitiveness for sure, the team ethos, you know, of those players, you know, basically gelling and then representing my country, you know, in three British championships was yeah, it was just an incredible feeling.
00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:41.379
Was this indoor Welsh volleyball or was this on the beach in the skimpy?
00:07:42.019 --> 00:07:45.860
No, no, don't don't give your audience that picture, please.
00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:50.259
Um we we yes, it was indoor, but we did play outdoor tournaments.
00:07:50.339 --> 00:07:55.300
Um, and we played Dunning Pool in Dorset in the UK, which was great fun.
00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.420
Um, just a weekend festival of volleyball and partying.
00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:00.740
It's quite volleyball's quite hard.
00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:03.300
It's very difficult, yeah, very difficult.
00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:14.099
And I was lucky to go to to a British um trial, a British Olympic trial in Lillershaw in the UK, the uh Olympic training camp.
00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:23.939
And I I'll never forget walking in for this one-week training camp, 1.83 metres tall or six foot one, and being the shortest person there.
00:08:24.099 --> 00:08:30.019
And I'm looking round at these giants, you know, and I just said, Oh my gosh, I'm up against it, you know.
00:08:30.099 --> 00:08:31.539
But I loved it, it was great fun.
00:08:31.860 --> 00:08:37.139
Amazing, and that's that's quite um you've almost had two Olympic opportunities there.
00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:41.620
Obviously, you had your accident, and how did it feel?
00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:47.779
Because you were paralyzed in a bed, probably with a prognosis of not being able to walk.
00:08:47.939 --> 00:08:49.059
How did that feel?
00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:55.059
Yeah, I think the first three months was a state of confusion.
00:08:55.620 --> 00:09:07.939
Because, you know, when you, for instance, for your audience, if you break an arm or a leg, normally three or four or five months the cast comes off, you do your real rehabilitation, you go back to work or school or whatever.
00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:15.779
But when you damage the spinal cord, even the consultants like, I really don't know what's going to happen, you know.
00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:18.419
And that for me was worse, you know.
00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:28.019
So I spent 94 days on my back, staring at the ceiling, no motion, no feeling, just thinking, well, this is probably the end, you know.
00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:38.019
Whereas I've had that 25 years of sport, movement, activity, health, and well-being, and now all of a sudden it stopped.
00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:47.779
And to have all of that removed out of my life, I think it was probably more difficult than the movement, if that makes sense, you know.
00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:59.620
Um, but a big, you know, a big thanks and a big help to the NHS in Cardiff, you know, in Rookwood Hospital, to go through that rehabilitation phase, six months in total.
00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:00.019
Yeah.
00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:06.659
Um, and I'll never forget, you know, leaving Rookwood Hospital when my late father came to collect me, and Mr.
00:10:06.819 --> 00:10:14.899
Inman, who was the consultant who I'd got to know really, really well, you know, told him all about my life, my movement, my sport, etc.
00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:20.659
And I'll never forget him saying to my dad when my dad came to collect me, look after him.
00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:22.019
He's a good one.
00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:22.740
Oh.
00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:24.580
Oh, that's so lovely.
00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:30.740
So, at what point in that sort of 94 days did you know that you'd even be able to walk again?
00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:38.019
Well, they finally lifted me out of the hospital bed with a hoist, and then they give you a Zimmer frame, a walk-in frame.
00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:40.580
Um it had my name on it.
00:10:40.659 --> 00:10:42.100
It was really embarrassing.
00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:47.779
But it was just that one step towards the future, you know.
00:10:47.939 --> 00:10:53.379
And then going through the rehabilitation of learning to walk with what they call lower leg paralysis.
00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:55.539
So only half of my legs work, okay?
00:10:55.779 --> 00:11:00.819
So the main primary muscles, my glutes, hamstrings, feet, and calves, they don't work.
00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:10.019
So all of my drive and functionality is actually from my quads and my hip flexors, which is why I walk like Charlie Chaplin, which is fine, you know.
00:11:10.340 --> 00:11:11.700
It's always good to have a personality.
00:11:11.939 --> 00:11:14.500
100%, you know, always look on the positive.
00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:15.059
Yeah.
00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:26.740
So it was at that moment when I went from my walk-in frame onto the crutches, and then I thought that's an improvement, yeah, you know, rather than still on this frame, you know.
00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:39.700
And when I got to the point where I was, I suppose, functional, um, where I could go to the shower, I could go to the bathroom on my crutches using what they call orthosis.
00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:47.379
Um, because I've got drop feet, you know, or drop foot in both feet, I have to wear supports to fix my feet.
00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:50.740
So all of a sudden, then you become self-functional.
00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:53.139
And then I did my drive-in test.
00:11:53.460 --> 00:11:58.259
Literally, the last week I'm in hospital, and I'll never forget speaking to the instructor.
00:11:58.419 --> 00:12:02.179
After I'd done the one-hour test, he signed me as a pass.
00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:03.779
Great, thank you.
00:12:03.939 --> 00:12:08.899
And he said, Oh, I just need to complete the, you know, the box at the bottom with your disability.
00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:12.100
Lower leg paralysis, broke my back at T12.
00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:14.899
I said, and by the way, my feet don't work.
00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:22.100
And he went, Oh my gosh, I'm glad you told me now, and not at the beginning, because he was concerned, you know?
00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:22.419
Yeah.
00:12:22.659 --> 00:12:29.700
So it's it's having that personal ability to be functional even when you have a disability.
00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:30.100
Yeah.
00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:32.980
But you've gone, I mean, what a remarkable story.
00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:40.100
So you've gone from almost no hope, not even know if you're going to walk, to Paralympic gold medalist for cycling.
00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:45.460
At what point in your journey did you ever think that was going to be possible?
00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:51.700
I think in the beginning, you know, when I left hospital, I started cycling with a disability.
00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:54.100
How did you know you could cycle?
00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:57.460
The last month in hospital, they sat me on an indoor bike.
00:12:57.539 --> 00:12:57.779
Okay.
00:12:57.939 --> 00:12:58.259
Okay.
00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:00.340
And it has toe straps.
00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:01.779
So I put my feet in.
00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:04.019
Remember, I'm wearing these supports.
00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:09.059
And I said to Martin, I'll never forget Martin, who was the physio sort of helper.
00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:12.659
I said, Hang on, my feet don't work.
00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:17.299
Because if I start to push, my feet are going to fall out to the toe straps.
00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:19.139
And he said, Oh, hang on.
00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:25.539
And he came back with a roller bandage and he bandaged my feet to the pedals so they couldn't slip off.
00:13:25.700 --> 00:13:26.819
True story.
00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:34.100
And I'm peddling in this gym and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, this now starts to feel normal.
00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:34.500
Yeah.
00:13:34.819 --> 00:13:35.460
Does that make sense?
00:13:35.939 --> 00:13:36.419
Did you cycle?
00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:38.100
Were you a cyclist before of any shape?
00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.100
I've been cycling since I was about eight.
00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:40.419
Okay.
00:13:40.659 --> 00:13:42.340
So a long, long competitively.
00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:47.139
Well, I raced triathlon for about 10 years, which is the Welsh Triathlon League.
00:13:47.779 --> 00:13:59.779
So I guess I was a strong cyclist, but if you think of triathlon as swim, psycho, run, it's it's good to be the best of all averages, if that makes sense, you know.
00:13:59.939 --> 00:14:00.740
And I loved it.
00:14:00.819 --> 00:14:05.220
You know, I was top 20 in Wales for my age group, which is okay, which is fine.
00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:12.179
But as I said in the beginning, my my journey of sport started 1980 watching Daily Thompson.
00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:12.500
Okay.
00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:17.939
So that was the intrinsic desire to maybe one day become a professional athlete.
00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:19.139
Does that make sense?
00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:20.100
It was just a dream.
00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:22.580
It was just a thought and a feeling.
00:14:22.819 --> 00:14:24.500
But this is the kicker.
00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:38.259
After leaving hospital, I went to meet Disability Sport Wales in Cardiff, which is a wonderful charity that helps disabled people of all ages, children all up to, you know, the oldies like me.
00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:45.620
And help those people to be coached in sport, any sport, any Paralympic sport.
00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:46.019
Okay.
00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:54.100
And I suddenly realized that I was actually in an environment with other people who were also disabled.
00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:54.419
Yeah.
00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:55.620
Of all ages.
00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:56.659
Does that make sense?
00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:59.779
Was it difficult to think of yourself as disabled?
00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.220
The first six to nine months was heartbreaking.
00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:05.220
That must be a real acceptance difficulty.
00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:15.299
And one of the things that they do in hospital, which is what they have to do for rehabilitation, they've got the parallel bars that you see in the Olympics, but they're about this far off the floor.
00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:19.700
So you hold on, and then you have to walk, but hold on.
00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:20.019
Okay?
00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:21.700
So it's all about functionality.
00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:24.740
But what they put in front of you is a mirror.
00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:29.460
Because you have to see your legs moving because I couldn't feel my legs.
00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:32.340
They were almost working on their own.
00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:37.539
And I'll never forget the physio I had is a lovely lady called Elena.
00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:40.419
And she's by my side and she's talking me through it.
00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:48.340
And I'm looking at my feet, and then all of a sudden I looked up big mistake.
00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:49.139
Yeah.
00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:56.980
I don't know, the mirror was probably four foot, but then all of a sudden I could see my eyes, and then I could see me.
00:15:57.779 --> 00:15:59.299
And then it becomes real.
00:15:59.379 --> 00:15:59.620
Yeah.
00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:06.419
Because when you're going through that rehabilitation, it doesn't feel like it's you.
00:16:06.740 --> 00:16:06.899
Yeah.
00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:07.700
Does that make sense?
00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:09.139
Because you're just infunctional.
00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:11.860
But all of a sudden, I see me.
00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:17.220
And I'm like, tears, palpitations.
00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:25.779
I'm like, and almost not that I went into a state of breaking down, but but it's like, oh my gosh, I didn't expect that.
00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:26.340
You know?
00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:26.819
Yeah.
00:16:27.939 --> 00:16:32.340
So dealing with that all through, then leaving hospital, getting back on the bike.
00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:35.299
And my dad, God love him, he was a savior.
00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:38.340
And I just said to him, just come and help me.
00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:39.620
Help me get onto the bike.
00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:45.939
I can clip in with my cycling shoes, push me off, wait, I'll be back in two hours.
00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:49.700
And he used to take the paper to Abergavenny, true story.
00:16:49.939 --> 00:16:52.899
And he down to the Hardwick pub, I'll never forget.
00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.059
And he'd sit there for two hours just reading the paper.
00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:55.860
Oh bless him.
00:16:56.019 --> 00:17:00.419
And I would go and do my mileage, come back, and then he'd go, right, Yuricans.
00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.340
And he'd wait for me and help me back off the bite.
00:17:05.860 --> 00:17:11.539
So I knew if I got myself fit and healthy and strong again, I could maybe go back to work.
00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:11.940
Okay.
00:17:12.339 --> 00:17:14.660
Because that was the that was the process.
00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:15.059
Yeah.
00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:22.259
And then my cycling coach at the time, Neil Smith, who was just even to this day, I can't thank him enough.
00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:27.140
He said to me one day in the velodrome, we were doing just some normal training.
00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:33.700
He said, Oh, we have um we have a race in about four or five months' time in the velodrome.
00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:35.700
He said, You're pretty strong.
00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:36.579
Okay.
00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:39.379
Would you like to enter?
00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:40.819
I said, Yeah.
00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:43.299
Heather, I didn't even think about it.
00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:46.660
I'd almost said yes and then thought, did I just say yes?
00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:47.379
Amazing.
00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.099
I thought I knew.
00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:50.180
And that's a really difficult decision to make.
00:17:50.420 --> 00:17:52.500
I think it's a competitive edge that people have.
00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:52.980
Okay.
00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:56.819
So say yes, then figure out how to do it, basically, you know.
00:17:57.379 --> 00:18:04.579
And then in May 2010, one year after my accident, I raced in the Newport Velodrome, and it was an international event.
00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:11.779
And the two races I raced in, I won both races, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy, you know.
00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:18.740
And then a month later, we raised money for the Wales Air Ambulance who treated me on the day of my crash.
00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:31.700
And I'll never forget, putting these two races on Facebook, and the the paramedic who treated me, you know, he rang me and he said, Oh, would you like to cycle around Wales with us to raise money for the air ambulance?
00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:33.460
I said, Yeah, I'm in.
00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:36.500
He said, Well, it's 900 kilometres in a week.
00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:37.059
Oh.
00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:40.099
I said, Did you just say 900?
00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:43.539
Now, if anybody knows Wales, it's not 900 flat.
00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:45.859
It's not, it's not flat, you know.
00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:48.019
But I thought, Heather, do you know what?
00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:49.619
I gotta do this.
00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:50.980
This guy saved my life.
00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:51.379
Yeah.
00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:54.740
The least I can do is give back just the support.
00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.259
So we did the ride.
00:18:56.500 --> 00:19:01.059
We raised about 100,000 dirum, you know, for the the air ambulance.
00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:06.019
And on the first day, I'll never forget meeting a guy who I'd never met before.
00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:08.740
And he's asking me questions, what's wrong with your legs?
00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:16.900
Because I'm on crutches, explained, broke my back, lower leg paralysis, but I can cycle because my quads and my hip flexors work.
00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:21.220
So we had a conversation for about 20 minutes.
00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:25.059
And he said, Can I um can I ask you one more question?
00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:26.099
I said, Yeah, of course.
00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:31.619
Now this was June 2010, two years before the Olympics.
00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:35.779
He said, Are you training for the Paralympics in London in two years' time?
00:19:37.379 --> 00:19:38.259
I said, No.
00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:40.180
Why the hell would I do that?
00:19:40.819 --> 00:19:42.099
He said, I think you should.
00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:43.619
And that was it.
00:19:44.259 --> 00:19:48.900
The light bulb moment, and I thought, oh my gosh, I've just gotta try.
00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:49.859
I've gotta try.
00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.980
If I get there, great.
00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:52.900
If I don't get there, so what?
00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:54.019
At least I tried.
00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.059
So we went home after the week.
00:19:57.379 --> 00:19:59.779
Told my parents, I'll never forget my dad's face.
00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:01.539
He said, How was the week?
00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:02.420
I said I was amazing.
00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:04.019
I met all these famous people.
00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:07.539
I said, Have a guess what I'm gonna start doing next week.
00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:09.700
What's that, Mark?
00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:12.900
I said, I'm gonna start training for the Paralympics.
00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:14.660
Para what?
00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:19.859
I said, you know, the Paralympics, the Olympics for disabled people like me.
00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:22.099
And he turns to my mother, Margaret.
00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:25.220
He said, Margaret have a word with your boy.
00:20:25.379 --> 00:20:26.740
I think he's lost it.
00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:31.779
And I said, Look, I gotta try.
00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:32.900
If I get there, great.
00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.059
If I don't, at least I've tried.
00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:35.379
Yeah.
00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:38.099
And I said, the only thing I ask is your support.
00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:43.779
Now you either get behind me, okay, or you get out of my way because I'm serious.
00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:44.259
Yeah.
00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:50.019
Because this opportunity is only gonna happen once, you know, and God loving me supported me.
00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:53.140
And within a year I got selected by British Cycling.
00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:54.900
That's absolutely a crazy journey.
00:20:55.299 --> 00:21:07.460
I think it's I mean, to be an Olympic or to be um an Olympic athlete as an as a person who's fit and healthy is one thing, but to take on that challenge when you've got a disability, that's just something else.
00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:21.299
Yeah, and I think the um the you know, the journey of having that accident, going through that, you know, really serious mental health journey in hospital, which I've parked, I've put behind me, I've come through it.
00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:24.900
You know, I don't need to be that person anymore, you know.
00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:41.299
Um, but then I guess being selected by the Olympic program, having always been into health and well-being, for me to go and do, you know, I don't know, 120 kilometers on the bike, I never felt myself saying no.
00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:42.420
Yeah.
00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:44.660
You know, it was always like, okay.
00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:52.099
So you then become coachable, then you start learning from the best coaches in the world, because I wasn't the expert.
00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:52.500
Yeah.
00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:57.779
You know, I didn't know anything about physiology, biomechanics, diet, lifestyle.
00:21:57.940 --> 00:22:00.740
Not to that level, you know, for sure.
00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:07.779
And then in February 2012, seven months before the Olympics, I raced in the world championships in Los Angeles.
00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:12.579
And became a world champion in the three kilometer pursuit in the velodrome.
00:22:12.819 --> 00:22:21.779
And that for me then was the realization to answer your question: how good do you think you are, or how good do you think you need to be?
00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:26.740
Because I was just on this progression of improvement, you know, month after month after month.
00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:32.180
What was the main thing you learned from the Olympic um sort of minds coaches, I guess?
00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:33.940
Gosh, how long have you got?
00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:35.059
Not long.
00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:46.259
Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, to pick one thing, I would honestly say, is to give a hundred percent in whatever you do and accept the outcome.
00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:46.819
Okay.
00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:47.460
Okay.
00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:52.019
Now, if you race against ten people and you finish last, that's okay.
00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:53.220
Genuinely.
00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:53.539
Yeah.
00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.379
As long as you give a hundred percent.
00:22:55.779 --> 00:23:02.740
Because my coach for the Olympic team for British cycling, Tom Stanton, he understood how I ticked.
00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.779
And he knew everything I did was a hundred percent.
00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:06.339
Okay.
00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:10.339
And he always said to me, Well done, that was amazing.
00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:13.940
He never said, Oh, come on, yeah, you can do better than that.
00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:17.700
Because he knew it was 100% or go home, you know.
00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:32.259
So, and that was a big thanks to Professor Steve Peters, the sports psychologist, who instilled into all the Olympic athletes and Paralympic athletes to give 100% in what you do and then accept the outcome.
00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.059
Yeah.
00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:33.940
Yeah.
00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:36.980
Mark, unfortunately, we're out of time today.
00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:41.299
You obviously went on and won your gold medal, which we're just going to have a look at before.
00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:57.460
Um, but I just want one of the things I think the listeners need to know, and we're very, very lucky, is that you take this into schools and you explain to children about resilience, about um achieving, about giving 100%, and you put that real Olympic mindset out there.
00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:02.180
And I think as as a population within Jubai, we're very, very lucky that you do that.
00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:07.059
And as you know, um, we have one last question that we ask everyone.
00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:15.619
If you could go back in time with everything you know, your accident, pre-accident, with what's the one piece of advice you'd give your seven-year-old self?
00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:23.539
Now the obvious answer is don't go paragliding.
00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:24.660
I think that's a very good one.
00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:25.299
I like that one.
00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:27.619
A lot of mums will be holding on to that one.
00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:31.299
But I think that wouldn't be the that wouldn't be the advice, actually.
00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:33.140
Honestly, it wouldn't.
00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:36.980
I think the advice at seven, oh my gosh.
00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:40.819
I think the advice I would give myself is to listen.
00:24:41.220 --> 00:24:45.539
Yeah, to listen to the experts earlier on in my life.
00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:45.940
Okay.
00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:46.819
Does that make sense?
00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:48.740
I would have been cuted, don't go paradoxically.
00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:53.619
Because I got to about 14, 16, 18 years of age before I really started to listen.
00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:53.940
Okay.
00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:56.099
You know, to those people around me.
00:24:56.339 --> 00:25:07.940
And to go into the Olympics, having everything, you know, everything I've gone through, I still see this medal now, and I still say to myself, I didn't win it with great luck.
00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:10.099
It was with great health.
00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:21.059
And that health comes under, you know, the pillars of, and we've spoken about this mental energy, you know, diet, lifestyle, sleep, hydration.
00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:25.539
You know, it's not just motivation, you know, it's not, it's not just discipline.
00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:27.539
It's it's all of the above.
00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:28.019
Yeah.
00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:28.740
You know.
00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:30.579
Mark, thank you very much.
00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.379
I'm very lucky that I can call you one of my friends.
00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:37.700
And every single time we meet, I leave inspired by you once again.
00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:40.019
So thank you very much for joining us today.
00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:48.259
Your contacts are below, and I know you're rolling out this amazing program for children, mindset, achievement.
00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:50.740
Um, and that's starting in September in schools.
00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:54.180
So, you know, please do have a look at that because it's absolutely amazing.
00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:55.220
So thank you so much for.
00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.539
Thank you ever so much.
