'I take pride in being a disabled role model'

A Para-badminton player who won silver at the Paris 2024 Paralympics is hoping to be a role model for young people wanting to get into the sport.

Dan Bethell, 28, from Bath, who has cerebral palsy, said he thought he was "rubbish" when he first started playing badminton and thought any dream of one day getting to the Paralympics would "never happen".

Mr Bethell was speaking as he returned to Bristol University to thank the coaches and staff who supported him during his academic studies.

"Bristol Uni is massive in my story. They really opened my eyes to what being an elite athlete is like, and I want to inspire others," he said.

"Now I'm in the position where I'm winning medals, there might be kids out there, very much like me, who are at that age where they are just starting to understand that there is something a bit different about them and might not know many people with a disability.

"It's something I take a lot of pride in, being their role model and being able to bring up the next generation."

Mr Bethell started training at Team Bath aged 10, first as a tennis player before switching to badminton aged 14.

He said he did not meet anyone else with cerebral palsy until he was 12 years old and the Paralympics made him feel represented at a time when disability was rarely seen on television.

"I started seeing these people on TV doing these incredible things at the Paras and I thought I'd really love to be part of that movement, but assumed it would always be a hobby," he said.

He took up Para-badminton after being inspired by the Beijing 2008 games and won his first silver medal at Tokyo 2020, the first time his sport was included in the Paralympics.

Mr Bethell, who has a masters in International Commercial Law from the University of Bristol, impressed his coaches from the start.

Performance sports manager, Matt Paine, said: “I still remember Dan walking through the door at open day and saying he wanted to win a Para-badminton medal.

"To watch him develop as an athlete and a person has been extraordinary and we loved watching him win the silvers in Tokyo and Paris.

“I’ve always felt really proud of Dan. He’s gone from a student, to an athlete, to a friend.”

Mr Bethell, who is currently training at the University of Bath, now has his sights set on the Los Angeles Paralympics in four years' time.

"The reason I kept going is because of the amazing people I met," he said.

"I thought about retiring after Paris, but I've got this finite window to be an athlete, so I'm going for it while my body is just about hanging on."

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