Podcast: Paris 2024 Paralympics with Olivia Breen

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Transcript

Olivia: My advice to disabled people would be find what you enjoy. You don't know until you try. And just never give up and just always keep trying. And find what you love doing because that's really important. You want to be able to enjoy it.

Isaac Corrick: Hello and welcome to the Disability Download – brought to you by Leonard Cheshire. On this podcast we respond to current topics, share stories and open up discussion about disability.

In this episode, my colleagues Josh and Nick caught up with decorated Team GB Paralympian Olivia Breen.

Olivia burst onto the scene aged just 16, introducing herself with a bronze medal in the 4 by 100-metre relay at London 2012. Since then, she has a long list of accolades including: another Paralympic bronze, gold medals for team GB in the World Championships, and more gold medals for Wales in the Commonwealth Games. Now, she has her sights set on Paris 2024.

Nick Bishop: The Paris 2024 Paralympics begins on Wednesday 28 August and ends on Sunday 8 September. In the UK, the Games will be broadcast on Channel 4. 

Olivia Breen is an elite athlete for Paralympics GB and Wales, competing in the T38 category for sprinters with cerebral palsy and [in] the F38 category for long jump. At the last Paralympics in Tokyo, she won a bronze medal in the long jump. She has also won gold medals at the World Athletics Championships. And more recently at the Commonwealth Games. Olivia won Gold in both the sprint and the long jump at Birmingham 2022.

Olivia – welcome back to Leonard Cheshire’s Disability Download. I know you've got a longstanding relationship with Leonard Cheshire and you last joined us on the podcast in July 2021 in the lead up to the Tokyo Paralympics. Welcome back and thanks for coming on.

Olivia Breen: Thank you for having me. It's great to see you guys.

Nick: So for anyone who missed that last episode, please can you tell our listeners a bit about yourself?

Olivia: So… hello! My name is Olivia Breen. I'm 27 years old and I'm a three-time Paralympian. I’m getting ready for the Paralympic Games in Paris in the next few months and really hoping it goes well. And it's great to see you guys again.

Josh Reeves: Great. Can you remind us about the T38 and the F38 classification and what that means?

Olivia: Yeah. So T means track and then F means field. And then 38 means like cerebral palsy – like [I have] myself – in all limbs. And then it also means like multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke and stuff like that. So it's a mix of everything. But my condition is cerebral palsy. So I've got two different types of cerebral palsy. One of them is called ataxia, and then one of them is athetoid.

Nick: OK.. And so it's for people with cerebral palsy and MS with a certain level of mobility impairment.

Olivia: Yeah. That's correct.

Nick: And how are you feeling about the Paris 2024 Paralympics? We’re really excited! But how does it feel from the point of view of an athlete getting ready to compete?

Olivia: Yeah. So I'm feeling really good. I'm really excited. I just got back from Switzerland and the competition went really well. There's a lot of positives to take but it's just trying to get more competition. The more practice you get, the better. And just being ready for September. So yeah. I’m just keeping my head down. And [I’ll] keep doing what I'm doing. So I'm really excited.

Nick: Brilliant.

Josh: Do you ever get, like, nervous? When you get there and you're ready and you lead up to that particular time where… where you’re actually ready to do that particular event… then… is there something that you do to warm up to make sure you're not nervous? Is there like a ritual, or anything like that?

Olivia: Yeah. I do get really nervous for a competition and more so with the big ones! But I just do a warm-up. And just save my energy as much as possible. I just keep myself to myself. I'm quite quiet. And yeah… I just… I'd rather be with people that understand me instead of just being like super chatty! Because I'm obviously a chatty person. But on the competition day, I'm very in the zone and focused. You know what I mean?

Josh: That's good. Is there any like pumped-up music that you listen to? Or something, like, to get you going?

Olivia: Yeah. So I listen to music… like upbeat music, positive music! And yeah. I just try and just stay focused and keep myself to myself. Be with people that are good. And obviously my coach as well… he completely understands me because I've been with him now eight years now. So he knows what I'm like on competition days.

Josh: That’s great. We mentioned earlier about your work with Leonard Cheshire. You did some great work with us around disabled people and exercise. For example, the Show Me You Can campaign… which includes the 15-minute home workout booklet. What's your advice to disabled people looking to get active today?

Olivia: My advice to disabled people would be find what you enjoy. You don't know until you try. And just never give up and just always keep trying. And find what you love doing because that's really important. You want to be able to enjoy it. [And] not be forced to do it, if that makes sense. Just enjoy it. And yeah… Make the most of it because you never know where it takes you. And also, sport is really good for disabled people because it can help with disabilities so much.

Nick: It must also like be a big boost for morale and mental health as well.

Olivia: Yeah, definitely. It can help mental health massively as well. And I find when I'm having a break from for training, like just two weeks off, I’m like: “I just want to go back to training!”…  I just found myself getting cranky. And when I train, I feel so much happier. It's crazy what a difference it makes when you don't train. You know… so different in your mood. You're like, “why are people annoying me?” And it's like, “no. Just get back training, Livvy. You'll be fine. [laughs]

Nick: So is it… Is it the routine? Is it the endorphins? Or is it … is it both, really?

Olivia: Yeah, I think it's a mixture of both. I think I just love training. I think it just makes me so happy as well. And obviously I'm so lucky to have it as my job as well. Yeah. So it really does make a difference to your mood and your mental health as well. It's really important.

Nick: Fantastic. So what are your goals for Paris 2024?

Olivia: I would love to come back with a medal.

Nick: And you’re targeting medals in both events, obviously. Which do you think is your stronger event – the sprint or the long jump?

Olivia: Anything can happen on the day. But I think there's definitely more potential in the long jump. But as I say, a medal in both would be a dream come true but any medal would be absolutely amazing. And obviously [I’d like] to get a PB [personal best] as well and be healthy.

Nick: Yeah. All excellent goals. Yeah. Superb!

Josh: Well, let's hope you get a career highlight because obviously you've had a lot of career highlights in the past. And what is your… what's your most favourite one, do you reckon?

Olivia: Er.. The Commonwealth Games for sure.

Nick: That was, when you won a Gold in the sprint, right?

Olivia: Yeah. That's correct.

Nick: Yeah, yeah. Fantastic.

Olivia: And obviously for Wales.

Nick: Yeah. Yeah. So you're a proud Welsh person who’s really happy to compete for Wales, I guess.

Olivia: Yeah. Yeah. I'm very happy…. I absolutely love it. It's. Just the team is so lovely and it's just a real special bond. And yeah. No one will ever take that moment away from me

Josh: I've seen pictures of you holding the Welsh flag going: “yeah!” [celebrating].

Josh: And  are there any other highlights you reckon? Like… “Oh my God. Like I can't believe that happened.”

Olivia: In 2017. [It was] after having a really bad year in 2016 [when] I came 12th in the long jump.. and the year after that I became world champion! And I was just like: “Oh my goodness. Wow. this is crazy! From coming 12th to like world champion!” And it just shows what a difference it makes when you change coaches, change environment. And you don't know until you try. And I'm so glad I made that move.

Nick: Fantastic.  That's quite a transformation.

Nick: So Josh and I are obviously gonna be…. we'll be watching on Channel 4 As… as we said earlier: we've all got CP, but there’s only one elite athlete with us.

Olivia: Yeah! [Laughs]

Nick: So we're obviously going to look out for you. Do you know when you're competing yet? Have you got the schedule?

Olivia: Yeah. So I complete on 31 August. The heat is in the morning for the 100 metres and the final is in the evening. And then 5 September is the long jump straight final in the morning.

Nick: Fantastic! Brilliant!

Olivia: Fingers crossed [Laughs]

Nick: Yeah, absolutely! We'll… we'll keep it all crossed for you!

Josh: Yeah.

Nick: And so… what… Have you been to Paris before? And what do you know of the setup in Paris? And what are you looking forward to seeing there?

Olivia: So last year we had the World Championships.. Last year we had the World Championships in Paris. So it was really good to get a little bit of insight into it

Nick: Oh, of course you did!

Olivia: So yeah. I just can't wait to be there and, you know, see all the other teammates… all my teammates from other countries as well. And obviously, it’ll be so different to Tokyo. So I'm just really excited about the whole experience.

Nick: Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic.

Josh: So in terms of... of the other great British athletes … what should we look out for … when we’re all watching at home?

Olivia: There's quite a few people. Like Sammy Kinghorn, who's a T53 wheelchair racer. And there's also Aled Davies from Wales as well. He competes for GB in the shotput and the discus. And then Harrison Walsh as well. Yeah. There's a lot of people to look out for. That’s for sure.

Josh: Obviously when you're not training and when you're not competing, is there any sport that you'd be watching during your time there?

Olivia: I think I'll be watching the whole thing, really. I’ll be watching other sports as well. I don't know exactly what sport. Maybe like… swimming. And there’s also, like, Stephen Clegg to look out for. He’s a visually impaired swimmer and he's going to be doing really well.

Josh: Cool.

Olivia: So yeah. I think it's just nice to be getting involved and supporting each other. And the whole [Paralympic] Village experience as well is really fun.

Nick: Yeah.

Josh: That’s great! If there is another Livvy somewhere in an alternative universe, what sports would she be doing?

Olivia: Maybe like cycling, maybe triathlon, maybe horse riding, maybe swimming. I love…. I’m very sporty in general. But when I retire, I definitely want to get into like CrossFit. I think. I love the look of that.

Josh: That's cool.

Olivia: Just challenging yourself in it and the environment just looks like a lot of fun.

Josh: Awesome.

Nick: What do you like to do away from athletics? What things do you enjoy doing?

Olivia: I love, erm, doing talks and stuff. And trying to inspire people in the next generation. And making people realise what a difference sport makes to your life. 

And charity stuff as well… I think it's really important. And Leonard Cheshire has a big place in my heart – obviously it helps disabled people become independent as well…. and I think that's really important for disabled people. For sure.

I… Obviously, I'm very sociable… like with my friends and my family as well.

Josh: I just want to know…with a new government formed, what would you like to see from a new government for disabled people? And… and what would that look like, do you reckon?

Olivia: I think… I think it'd be really important to get more to get more disabled people to work… in a working environment. And also, you know… disabled people, we have a different way of learning about things. And we do things differently. And I also think it would be a positive… for people to learn about disability. And, you know, we've got a different mindset, a different attitude because we have to do things differently… you know, being disabled. But I think it would be really important to have more disabled people in a working environment for sure.

Nick: Yeah. And have you seen people … other people take up sport and being inspired to take up sport? And how…how does that make you feel when you see that happening?

Olivia: It makes me just feel like: “Wow. I'm really glad this is happening. And you know, I'm really glad seeing other disabled people getting out there and trying… you know… because it's really important for us to try. And also have the confidence… that is really important as well. Because, you know, it's quite daunting when you go to like a place where you don't know anyone. And everyone's just staring at you, thinking, like: “Why… why is this person different?” It's like… It's good to be different. You know. And it's good to be unique and share that with others.

Nick: Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

Josh: I want to say to Nick: if you could do a sport right now… what would you do, Nick?

Nick: I suppose… from sports that I'm aware of… For me as   a powerchair user, it would have to be boccia. But just based on the ones that I'm aware of.  Yeah. Obviously, there's a lot of training and effort and skill that goes into that … that I currently don't possess. But it looks really cool. And there’s amazing things set up for people with all different levels of impairment. 

So yeah. I guess… I guess boccia, which for people that don't know is a bit like bowls. That's another event that will be at the Paralympics. But to be honest, I'm just looking forward to it as a viewer. There's so many different events that are all… that are all really good fun to watch. I have to say, I think we do really good coverage of it in the UK as well. I think, you know, the TV coverage is excellent. So yeah. I just can't wait. Can't wait to watch it!

Olivia: Yeah. You should definitely try boccia. Why not?

Nick: Yeah. Yeah. I really should.

Nick: Yeah, I really should because I know a lot of people at Leonard Cheshire get a lot out of it. So yeah. I just need to find a local boccia club.

Olivia: I'm sure there’s one not far away.

Nick: Yeah. I’ll have a look on UK Parasport…. and see where… see where the nearest one is! Good idea. Good idea, Liv!

Josh: Has there been a time where you've mentored disabled people to get into the sport that you're doing? When you have the time to potentially do that in the future, would that be something that you would want to do?

Olivia: Yeah. I would love to get into coaching, for sure, and help disabled people… because obviously I understand how it feels. And having cerebral palsy, it takes your body longer to get your body to do what you want it di… to tell your brain what you want your body to do. Because obviously, it’s the coordination. You’ve just got to be patient and it will come. I would love to be a mentor as well for disabled people – you know, up and coming younger ones. And just you know… just saying: “make the most of the experience. Don't ever hold back.”

Olivia: I'm always thinking about the next goal. I'm always thinking: “How can I make myself better? What can I do to learn from that?” So I'm always thinking long-term, basically as well. You know… like… obviously Paris is my main goal now, and then after… I'm going to be thinking towards LA.

Josh: Well, what? What is it next? LA, is it, then?

Olivia: Yeah. 2028?!! Oh my goodness! That would be my last Games though.

Nick: Yeah? You've already… you've already decided that's going to be your last one.

Olivia: Definitely. Yeah, 100%. I'll be going on to next stage in life. The next chapter. Because I think, you know, I will have been to five Paralympic Games. So that's insane.

Nick: Wow. Yes. Because am I right in thinking you started as a 16-year-old at the Paralympics in London 2012?

Olivia: Yeah, I did. With braces! Like, aah!!

Nick: Yeah, yeah. That's amazing. Good luck again in your fourth Paralympics in Paris.

Olivia: Thank you very much.

Nick: I'm sure you'll be fantastic. We'll be watching you and keeping a close eye on how things go. And yeah. Keep the medals coming. And most of all, enjoy it!

Josh: Yeah.

Olivia: Thank you so much. Lovely to meet you. And lovely to see you again, Josh

Isaac: Thanks so much and best of luck to Olivia at Paris 2024! We’d love to know what you think. So do get in touch by emailing us at or you can contact us on Twitter or Instagram @Leonard Cheshire. If there's a guest you’d like to hear from or a topic you think we should cover, let us know. This has been the Disability Download.