Pole vaulter Henrietta Paxton targets para-sport after gym accident left her paralysed

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Commonwealth Games athlete is keen to remain competitive and active despite spinal injury earlier this year

Henrietta Paxton, the former 4.35m pole vaulter who competed for Scotland in the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, is aiming to make her mark in wheelchair basketball and rugby after being paralysed from the waist down following a spinal injury she sustained in the gym.

In May this year the 41-year-old slipped while doing a squat, causing a 120kg barbell to crush her spine. The mum-of-two attempted to readjust her stance, but overcompensated — knocking herself forward and being crushed under the weight.

She was rushed to Southampton General Hospital where doctors told her the news that she’d broken part of her spine and damaged her spinal cord, leaving her paralysed from the waist down.

Undeterred, though, she is plans to continue doing para sports and has already won a para-badminton contest at the Inter-Spinal Unit Games.

“My career never really went the way I dreamed of it going,” she told The Times. “But the thing I’m most proud of is exactly that: my tenacity, the ability to keep picking myself up and keep coming back.

“From the off, the prognosis on the extent of damage I did to my spinal cord was not good. They’re very keen to make sure that you understand that, which I found difficult to deal with just because that’s never been my mindset.

“It’s not that I don’t accept that this is serious but I’ve always been open-minded to pushing for the best outcome I can get. That was demonstrated in previous injuries where again I was told you’re not going to get back from this and I did.

“I’m of the mindset that if you don’t think there’s any way forward, there’s not going to be, because you’re not going to chase things down and you’re not going to keep trying.”

Paxton began life as a combined events athlete and long jumper. She has jumped well over six metres but she found more success in pole vault where she sits No.11 on the UK all-time women’s pole vault rankings.

Following the accident she is planning to return to the classroom as she has worked in recent years as a PE teacher. Adapting to home life with her children, who are aged five and three, with husband Shane Kelly, a former UK Athletics physio, brings its challenges too.

Given this, a JustGiving page has been set up with the goal of raising the £230,000 required to make all parts of her house accessible.

“When your whole identity is based around being active and fit and healthy, it’s really hard to re-find yourself in a situation where, having never had to rely on anyone before, I now have to accept that in some situations I do have to ask for help,” she says.

To support Henrietta Paxton’s fundraising, see justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helphen

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