Dan Greaves goes for Paralympic medal No.7 in Paris

29/08/2024 11:04

Discus thrower Dan Greaves on longevity, the development of para sport and competing in front of his family

That Dan Greaves recently watched some of his earliest Paralympics performances thanks to the wonders of VHS videotape perhaps gives an indication of his longevity at the top level of his sport.

Having started out in Sydney 2000, the 41-year-old is about to compete at the seventh Games of his career and, after creating history in Tokyo three years ago by becoming the first track and field athlete to win a medal at six in a row, his hopes are high of making it a magnificent seven.

He admits to a certain level of disbelief that he has made it this far and the thrill of collecting the Paralympic kit or making preparations for the big occasion have not been dimmed by the passage of time or having been through it all before. Greaves' excitement levels are also on the rise because of the numbers he has been seeing in training.

"It always means a lot to be selected," says. "I feel a bit like the granddaddy of the team. These young whippersnappers are taking places on the team but that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.

"If you'd said to me in Sydney in 2000 that I'd still be going 24 years later, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But I love the sport so much and I love throwing. I’d still do it, even if I wasn’t at this level, so it’s kept me going.

"That love for the sport has really enticed me to work hard. Because I’m still competitive, in with a chance of some medals and improving all the time, I'm going to keep going for as long as possible. 24 years is an absolute dream and to make it seven Games is just incredible."

Picking a favourite moment out of those 24 years is still a relatively simple process for Greaves. It was at the 2004 Games in Athens that he won the only Paralympic gold of his career, setting a then world record of 55.12m for the F44/F46 in the process. It is a performance he revisited recently.

"I managed to get some footage from an old VHS video of Athens," he chuckles. "It was just magical to see some of those moments that weren’t captured by TV but were captured by a hand-held camcorder. It was great going back down memory lane.

"I think to be Paralympic champion and break the world record in 2004 is probably my greatest achievement, because it’s the pinnacle."

» This is an edited version of a longer feature which is available in the latest issue of AW magazine. To buy a copy click here

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