Aileen McGlynn - Tokyo Paralympics GB VI Cycling Silver Medallist Follow Up Interview

Here on RNIB Connect Radio we are catching up with some of the Paralympics GB visually impaired medal winners from the Tokyo Paralympic Games to find out how they got into sport, what winning that medal was like out in Tokyo and their advice for other visually impaired people on how to get into sport at any level.

Our Toby Davey court up with Aileen McGlynn who with her Pilot Hellen Scott won a Silver Cycling medal in the velodrome in Tokyo.

Aileen began by telling Toby about getting on to a bicycle for the first time by borrowing her neighbour's child's bike, how at the age of 8 using her first Holy Communion money and savings to buy her own first proper bike, going on a 10-mile trip not long after buying that first bike to see one of her school friends and then joining a local cycling club.  

For Aileen it was watching the 2002 Commonwealth Games and seeing Chris Hoy win his Gold medal for Scotland that really got Aileen interested in cycling as a sport.

Aileen then talks about how she got in to Paralympic Cycling and breaking cycling records at her early Paralympic cycling team trials. The lead up to the Tokyo Paralympic Games with Aileen and her Pilot Helen Scott who only teamed up 12 weeks prior to flying out to Japan for the games.

Aileen shares with Toby what it was like out there in Tokyo during the games for her and Helen and of course what it was like winning that silver medal.

Aileen ends by passing on her advice to other visually impaired people about how to get into sport and her thoughts for the future on whether she will compete in Paris in 2024 for the next Paralympic Games.

Congratulations again Aileen from everyone at the RNIB on that Paralympic Cycling Silver medal.

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