We are delighted to announce that GB Wheelchair Rugby’s Kylie Grimes has joined our fantastic team of Ambassadors.
Kylie is a double Paralympian of the London and Rio games, currently training for the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics.
While she competed in athletics in Rio, her love for team sports has seen her return to her first love of wheelchair rugby.
An athlete, show jumper, and aspiring Olympian all of her life, within just three years of her life-changing spinal injury in 2006 Kylie returned to competitive sport by cycling 450 km, from Vietnam to Cambodia, to raise money for Regain, a charity dedicated to helping get newly injured tetraplegics back into sport.
Having undergone a remarkably swift personal rehabilitation herself, she now seeks to help others do the same and continues to undertake sponsored rides around the world for Regain.
She started playing for the London Wheelchair Rugby Club in 2010, and for Great Britain in 2011. In 2012 she qualified for her first Paralympics in London, in which the team finished fifth.
She switched to athletics and competed in the World Championships in Doha in 2015 and the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, where she finished fourth; and the London World Championships in 2017 where she came fifth.
Returning to the wheelchair rugby in 2018, Kylie and the GB team won gold in Denmark, becoming European Champions.
She has competed in championships across the world and continues to train for the Tokyo games, now set for 2021.
Kylie said: “Sport has saved my life.
“My experiences since 2006—and particularly my journey back to sport, teamwork, and a strong relationship with my body—have helped me to overcome many obstacles in my life, and sharing the lessons I’ve learned to help motivate and inspire others is a huge honour.
“It’s so important for those with life-changing injuries to know that life goes on, and so can they.
“It’s equally important for sportsmen and women of all levels of ability to be reminded of what’s possible, and all that they are lucky to have: a team, a mission, a life to live to the fullest.
“You just have to go out there and get it.”
Marc Leckie, Head of Foundation, said: “It is great to have Kylie join us.
“As a huge Quins fan and amazing athlete she is an inspirational person to have on board.
“She plans to make some guest coaching appearances supporting the development of The Jesters, our wheelchair rugby team, and we hope she will become part of The Foundation post Tokyo.”
Kylie recently joined our Wellbeing Coach Hollie for a Wheelchair Friendly Workout, check it out and see if you can pick up some tips!