Photo Credit: @bhutaful
“I said on my hospital bed I’d be a Paralympian and a medallist one day,” recalls Kylie Grimes. “To now have gold around my neck is a dream come true.”
As a girl she dreamt of leaping to Olympic success as a showjumper. A swimming pool accident in 2006 changed her life forever, but that drive, determination or desire remained.
On Sunday, almost 15 years to the day since becoming “85% paralysed,” Grimes was part of the first British team to win a wheelchair rugby Paralympic title. The 33-year-old also made history individually at Tokyo 2020 by becoming the sport’s first-ever female champion.
Victory was the culmination of an incredible journey for the team who have endured countless agonising medal-match defeats and brutal funding cuts. They also had to raise over £250,000 via crowdfunding just to qualify for the Games.
For Grimes, gold may be the completion of a lifetime dream, but she now has a new drive.
“Wheelchair rugby is a sport for all,” she states. “I hope I can inspire more girls to give it a go and I’d love to see more women involved across all levels.”
Grimes, who broke her neck while diving into a swimming pool at a friend’s home, has no sensation below the breastbone. She is able to manoeuvre a wheelchair with the limited movement she can generate with her hands and arms.
She was introduced to wheelchair rugby, which is often referred to as ‘murderball’, during her rehabilitation at Stanmore’s Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in north London.
“I saw it and I was like ‘wow’ I need to play this game,” she recalls.
“It’s like Robot Wars in wheelchairs, smashing each other. You’ve got crazy people hitting into each other, screaming, roaring and it’s just absolutely phenomenal.
“Am I worried about getting hurt? I get asked that a lot, but I always say ‘well, I’ve broken my neck so it can’t be worse than that!”
Grimes was playing for London Wheelchair Rugby Club when Josie Pearson became the first woman to represent Great Britain in the sport at a Paralympics in 2008.
Inspired, she secured a trial with the British team herself and went on to become one of only two female athletes in the ‘mixed’ sport at the London 2012 Paralympics.
She switched sports and finished fourth in the F51 club throw at Rio Paralympics, before being enticed back to her murderball roots.
Money was tight, after UK Sport removed all funding following the 2016 Games, but Grimes believes that “galvanised” the squad and when support was restored in late 2020, they were able to take full advantage.
“At times it was awful and we were broken, but it made us stronger and when we looked at one another with the medals around our necks we all said ‘it was worth it’,” she insists.
“London 2012 was a big moment and we had a huge participation boost after so many people were able to see us for the first time. I really believe this gold is going to be huge for youth programmes and people with disabilities back home who’ve witnessed what we’ve done.”
Wheelchair rugby is a mixed event, but just four of the eight nations competing at the Tokyo Paralympics selected female players – something Grimes is determined to change.
“I’m an advocate for getting women into this sport and there is progress because we had the first-ever all female match in the UK last year, but there still aren’t many women playing internationally,” she says.
“I get messages all the time going ‘what’s it like to play with the guys? It looks quite daunting and scary,’ but it’s honestly not at all, they treat me like one of them.
“Okay, sometimes it is a little scary with testosterone flying around and chairs smashing together, but it’s unbelievable and a unique, amazing sport to be part of.
“Men bring fast-pace, aggression, power, but it’s not all about physicality,” continues Grimes. “It’s tactics, using your brain, keeping calm and I use my communicative skills when under pressure to help the team, so it’s great to have a mix of men and women.
“But yes, I guess they think I’m the boss,” she says with a wink.
At 33 Grimes is 12 years younger than her oldest Paralympic gold-medal-winning team-mate, Ryan Cowling, so has no plans to stop playing.
She aims to take her “precious” gold medal into schools in the coming months and continue her long-term mission by growing female participation in the sport.