Although the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are more than a month away, the countdown has already begun for the athletes participating in the multi-sport event.
New Zealand is sending a crack team of specialists to the Paralympics, including young Cambridge cyclist Devon Briggs.
Twenty-year-old Briggs started the year on a high, winning a suite of medals at the 2024 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Rio in March.
The Paralympics take place from August 28 to September 8, featuring around 4400 athletes in 549 events.
Briggs, alongside Paralympians Cameron Leslie and Anna Grimaldi, are among the faces of a Paralympics New Zealand marketing campaign entitled ‘We’ll Give You Something To Talk About’. The campaign challenges people to look at the athlete first rather than focus on their disability.
Seven Sharp caught up with Briggs ahead of the Paris Paralympic Games next month.
How excited are you to be heading to the Paris Paralympics?
“I’m over the moon with joy. Words can’t describe the feeling of being selected for my first Paralympics. It’s such an amazing thing to do for my country. I can’t wait.”
What was it that led you towards cycling?
“I took to cycling at the age of 10, and I fell in love with it because it’s something that gave me freedom and love that I’d never experienced before.
“Growing up with a disability, I couldn’t run around and play rugby or tag with everyone else my age, so when I found cycling, I really fell in love with it.”
How does it feel going to the Paralympics at the top of your game?
“It’s something that I’ve never experienced before. I’ve never raced at a competition, being the one who is being chased. I’ve always been chasing the top rider, and it’s going to be interesting to see how that dynamic changes going to Paris.
“I think [that dynamic] will give me a little more motivation and power to win gold, put my best foot forward and do everything I can to succeed.”
You’re one of the faces of the Paralympics New Zealand marketing campaign. What do you want people to know?
“I think one of the biggest things I want people to know all through the campaign is that Para athletes and Paralympians are normal people too.
“Just because they have a disability, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re putting everything they can into their sport and striving for success.
“They’re taking every opportunity that they have available, putting their best foot forward, and really striving.”
What are your goals in Paris and beyond?
“At the moment, I’m fully focused on Paris. I want to go and do everything I can to win gold. That’s been my dream for as long as I can remember, and that’s what I want to set out and do.”