Sugden Overcomes Injury to Secure Paralympic Spot.

Multi Sports General

Sugden Overcomes Injury to Secure Paralympic Spot.

After overcoming an injury to earn a spot in the Paris Paralympics, powerlifter Louise Sugden aims to win a medal at her second consecutive Games.

The 40-year-old Sugden, who competed in wheelchair basketball for Great Britain at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympics, switched to powerlifting in 2017 and won a "fairytale" bronze medal in Tokyo 2021.

A shoulder injury, which required surgery in September 2022 and kept her out of training for nine months, put her Paralympic qualification for Paris in jeopardy. 

To improve her chances, Sugden and her team decided she should move from the 86kg weight class to 79kg. Despite the setbacks, she has successfully qualified for the Paris Games.