Nathan Macqueen's journey to double Para archery gold

When Nathan Macqueen had a serious motorbike crash in 2009 he says he thought his life was over.

An all-round sportsman, he had played rugby for Dumfries Saints and Glasgow Warriors at Under-18 level.

After his accident, though, he was able to find his way back into competition via wheelchair basketball, powerlifting and then archery.

He just won two golds at the European Para Championships and now hopes for a medal at the Paris Paralympics.

The 32-year-old from Dumfries - who now lives in Addiewell in West Lothian - has been on quite a journey to become world number one in his sport.

"The whole year's been pretty good, but this weekend was just the icing on the cake to go out and come back with two golds from the Europeans was a dream come true," he said.

It came after a tough year when he watched his ranking drop and even considered giving up the sport.

However, that would not really have been in character for the former St Joseph's College pupil.

"If you ask my wife, she'd say I'm stubborn and that's how I have managed to get to where I am now," he said.

"When I first had my accident I thought my life was over basically but I soon realised there was a life after a spinal injury.

"I got involved with charities and stuff like that and that allowed me to see that there are other people out there thriving with spinal cord injuries as well."

He said that without the support of his family and his wife Tara he did not think he would have achieved all he had in Para archery.

"Getting back into a sport played a big part of me becoming me again," he explained.

"I started playing wheelchair basketball when I got out of hospital which was something I never thought I would do again - play a team sport.

"I thought those days were gone when I had my accident.

"It went from there to all the different sports that I've tried until archery stuck."

His mindset after his crash has also helped him to move forward.

"When I had my accident I felt like it had happened for a reason - and that was to help people in some weird way - so I never really had any issues with it," he said.

"I always joke to my friends that walking is overrated anyway.

"The hardest thing is the way other people look at you sometimes - I would rather people ask questions than just stare or point.

"You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it and if life throws little obstacles, just try and laugh them off."

Despite his success in archery, he still misses the game he grew up playing.

"I still love watching rugby, I get a wee bit frustrated that I can't stand up and play for 80 minutes and sit back in my wheelchair," he admitted.

"I'm trying to get my son into it as well but that's a bit of a battle, I don't think he's that interested."

Slowly but surely he has climbed to the top of his new sport having now appeared at two Paralympics in Rio and the Covid-affected event in Tokyo, with hopes of a third in 2024.

"I'm hoping that I get to experience what a normal games is like in Paris," he said.

"Hopefully I can take advantage of that and do something."