“You’re still the same person at the end of the day and your life is for living.”
Mike, who joined Cyclone in late 2017 is a C6/7 tetraplegic who broke his neck in a swimming pool accident in Corfu in 2000. After spending a year at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries unit in Glasgow he took up playing wheelchair rugby when he was discharged in 2001.
Mike said, “I initially started training with the Scottish Wildcats in Falkirk, but when I moved to North East England I switched to the NE Bulls.” He took to the sport straight away and was selected for the Great British development squad in 2005. He eventually went on to become the first (and so far, only) Scot to represent team GB in wheelchair rugby.
Paralympic success
Mike played in his first major tournament in 2011, at the European Championships in Switzerland, finishing with a silver medal. He was made vice-captain of the GB team for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where the team finished in 5th place, and in 2014 was appointed as captain for the national team. He also competed at the World Championships in 2014.
Despite relinquishing the captaincy in 2015 Mike continued to play a key role at the European Championships that year, returning from Finland with a gold medal. Mike represented ParalympicsGB for the second time at Rio 2016. Great Britain finishing in fifth place.
Mike concluded, “I’ve achieved more with my life since having my accident. “That’s simply down to the fact it has given me a different outlook. Everything changed, my perception of how I want to do things and go about life. What happened has made me more determined to make something of my life. That is what drives me on.
“So, I would say to anyone who is in the same situation I was not to give up. You’re still the same person at the end of the day and your life is for living.”
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