With the closing ceremony bringing the curtain down on 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the sporting world now gets set to turn its attention to the Paralympics in the French capital. After winning 65 medals at the Olympic Games, Great Britain are out to add to their haul from the end of August, with Wheelchair Rugby amongst the first medal contention sports to take centre stage.
The wheelchair rugby action gets underway on August 29th for the first pool stage fixtures, before the all important medal matches are decided on September 2nd. The Champ de Mars Arena is the venue, with Team GB the first side to take to the court as they commence the competition against Australia in Pool B.
Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby player Ollie Mangion is getting ready to make his Paralympic debut, and he is delighted to go first out of the gate to shake away any tournament nerves. Speaking in an exclusive interview with RUCK, Mangion expressed his eagerness to get the first match under his belt, as Team GB embark on their journey towards retaining their Paralympic gold medals. Whilst Mangion explained how he does not usually feel the pressure, he recognises that the stakes are raised at the Games in Paris.
“From my point of view, as a team, I don’t think anybody really wants to spend too long there (Paris) without competing. Because you get to a point at a Paralympic Games, and you start seeing all the different teams around you, they’re coming back with medals, and if you’re sitting around waiting for your event to happen, it doesn’t do well for your nerves.
“It becomes quite easy to start overthinking. So this time round, we’re playing on the first week, which is good for us. Wheelchair rugby doesn’t usually appear until later in the Paralympics, or it’s good for us that we’re competing in the first week. We can get that first game done and out the way.
“Australia’s a tough opponent, but it’s a great gauge for us. If we can get the win against Australia then we’re in big for the rest of the tournament. I think every game is going to be tight. But Australia is a great one to start with.”
Mangion is delighted to be sharing the debutant experience with a long time friend, as he and David Ross get set to done the Union Jack for the first time at the Paralympics. The two GB stars have been alongside each other for every chapter of their wheelchair rugby journeys, and Mangion is ‘buzzing’ at the opportunity to take on all comers alongside his London WRC teammate.
“So, me and Dave, we’ve been going up through the ranks together, we came into the sport at a similar time. We met while we were both quite new to the sport. And, we’re pretty good mates. So, between us, we’ve been working together to achieve the similar goal, right? We’re both absolutely buzzing for each other. There have been a number of tournaments where one of us has been selected and the other has been left at home, or vice versa.
“That was the biggest thing, for a Paralympic Games, you don’t want to be (getting) excited that you’re going, and then you might be left behind. So we’re both buzzing that we both made the team, we’ve always supported each other throughout this whole process and we’re ready to compete now. We’re working just as hard as each other. It’s always good to have somebody pushing you in the background, and you’re pushing them to achieve the same goal. So we’re all ready, we’re ready now, that’s what I can say.”
As Mangion would agree, and Ross explained in his interview with RUCK, Great Britain players are often called up into the Paralympics squad after a significant time spent with the team on the international stage. Unlike the able-bodied variations of rugby, players can remain at the top of their game in the disability sport until their late 40s and even into their early 50s, with Ross now emerging into the Paralympic side at 29-years-old.
Great Britain head coach Paul Shaw named his 12-man squad back in June, with 40-year-old Gavin Walker captaining the side in his prime playing years. He’s joined by 41-year-old Aaron Phipps and 42-year-old vice captain Stuart Robinson in the leadership group, of the primarily older contingent of players heading to Paris. However, amongst the Team GB stalwarts is the hidden gem of their gold medal pursuit, as 20-year-old Tyler Walker has exploded onto the scene after just 18 months in the sport.
The former Cheltenham man has recently swapped his tiger stripes for Leicester, and brings the youthful exuberance to the reigning Paralympic champion GB squad. With an impressive height coupled with blistering pace, Walker adds an aerial threat to the Great Britain attacks and Mangion has been wildly impressed by the newcomer. Speaking on Walker, who will become Team GB’s youngest ever Paralympic wheelchair rugby player, Mangion said;
“It’s incredibly impressive. It was almost unheard of, for somebody that young, especially to have played for such a short amount of time and suddenly be thrown into a Paralympic Games. right. I’m impressed with his work and his work ethic, I’m impressed with how he’s taken it all on board. Everyone keeps in mind that he’s a bit newer to the sport, we cut him some slack every now and again. But, personally, I’m really impressed with how he’s taking it all on board.
“I’ve got a good few years under my belt now, I know how it felt to be a rookie. I know how hard it can be when you’re around veterans who have been playing the sport for 20 years or more. I’m happy that he’s been accepted into the team, the team has been welcoming. We’re all really impressed with how he’s done, so we’re pleased to have him.”
Whilst it is the first Paralympic rodeo for the likes of Mangion, Ross and Tyler Walker, Team GB’s inspirational evergreen Aaron Phipps is ready for his third appearence at the games. After GB finished fifth at London 2012, Phipps opted out of the trip to Rio four years later, but returned in emphatic fashion to lead Great Britain to Paralympic gold in the glorious campaign in Tokyo. In what could be Phipps’ last hoorah, Mangion discussed how the Kilimanjaro climbing icon of disability sport, is utilising his work as a motivational speaker to help the squad prepare for the Paris Games.
“Aaron is incredible. His work ethic is second-to-none, he balances his work with GB, he comes into GB camps, and he is just a huge morale booster for everyone. His attitude is what we should all be striving for, really. When he brings it to the court as well, he that look in his eye, and you know exactly what’s about to happen. When he gets that look in his eyes, he’s out for the kill at that moment.
“It’s just in moments like that you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Man, I’m glad he’s on my team!’ So, he’s amazing to have around, he’s a great morale booster. I think we’ve sort of leaned towards him in times of when maybe things are a bit down, we’ve suffered a loss. We always look towards Aaron who brings us back up again. He knows how to motivate people, and you here’s hoping he sticks around after after Paris. That’s not my decision to make, it’s all on him. But I’d love to have him around for the next leg as well.”
Whilst the majority of the world view the Covid-19 pandemic in the rear view mirror, the ripple effect of the worldwide lockdown is still felt within the world of Olympic and Paralympic sport. Mangion narrowly missed out on selection for the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, with the omission only motivating him to improve in the shorter three-year turnaround for 2024.
“I’ll be the first to admit, when I was part of the team back in 2017, I was still very young, probably still a bit green, might not have been completely ready for that level of competition. I was still extremely happy to be there and I was keen to be there, but like I said, I’ll be the first to admit that maybe I wasn’t ready for that. So after that year, after the Europeans (Championships) in 2017, I was out of the squad for a bit.
“Covid happened, and that put a spanner in the works. I then came back in at the end of 2021. Obviously I had a bit more maturity under my belt, I was a lot more ready to deal and cope with the stresses of being at that level. Straight after the Paralympics in Tokyo, we were gearing up for a new cycle, which was shortened. So everything was on quite a high level, It overwhelming at first, but I had to get into the mindset of just having to throw yourself into it.”
“It’s going to be overwhelming for a little while when you’re new to it. But if you just throw yourself into it and accept it, then that’s the easiest way you’ll adapt. At this point, I’m going into camps and I know what’s expected of me, I know where I need to be at what times, it’s become second nature to me now, but it doesn’t make it any easier in terms of the stresses and how hard you have to work. But, like I said before, the payoff is always worth it in the end.”
The chance to make history beckons for Great Britain, as Paul Shaw’s side could become the first European team to win back-to-back Paralympic gold medals in just a few weeks time. Whilst the immortalising accolade is not being discussed around the GB camp, Mangion highlighted how the task at hand is clear for GB, in that they will settle for nothing less than Gold medals from the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
“So it’s sort of being discussed. We haven’t really discussed making history, it’s quite a big task, it’s quite a daunting task when you when you frame it like that. What we do talk about in almost every camp and in almost every meeting is winning gold. We don’t have that in the context of winning two golds in a row, we just say, ‘we are there to win gold.’
“I think that’s the elite mentality, it is very much leave what’s in the past, in the past. All you can control is what’s happening now, and what’s going to be happening in the future. So you’re going to focus on what’s right in front of you, at this very moment. Obviously, the goal is to win that gold medal, but we haven’t really discussed making history in that regard.”
“Because I think that for some people, it can be a little bit daunting. We definitely have the capability of doing that. I can imagine what the mood would be like if we did make history in, I guess people won’t shut up about it when this does happen! But we just need to focus, one game at a time, one day at a time. If we play well, then who knows what will happen?”
Finishing off the interview on a personal note, Mangion took stock of the position he’s in and began to feel the butterflies ahead of the flight to France. The Great Britain star has worked his whole life to this moment, and is eagerly anticipating the opening rendition of ‘God Save the King’, as his side lines up for the first pools stage fixture, in front of a packed house against the Australians.
“Personally, I’ve never really played in a stadium and front of that many people. We’ve had, we’ve had meetings and educations about how we’re going to deal with that sort of thing, because it’s quite huge, it can be quite distracting, especially if you’re in a big game. It’s still an extremely exciting thing to be a part of, you’re on the world stage, you’re there.
“It’s always a proud moment, when you go out there for the first time, the flags are raising, and you end up singing the national anthem, it’s always a proud moment to be a part of that, in knowing you’re one of the best in your country. Representing that flag, it’s quite a special feeling. I’d imagine in a podium match it would be 10 times (that feeling). Pretty emotional, to be honest.
“I think just the whole experience for me, it’ll be huge. I’m looking forward to taking it all in. I’m looking forward to playing some of the best rugby of my career so far, showing the world stage what I can bring. I’ve got a lot more in me, so I can bring it into the future as well. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’m just really excited for taking everything in.”