Paralympic rower 'excited' for his debut in Paris

Josh O'Brien is in the Paralympic rowing squad for Team GB, despite only taking up the sport two years ago

A Paralympic rower who only took up the sport two years ago said he was "excited" to make his debut at the games in Paris.

Josh O'Brien, 22, from Naseby, Northamptonshire, qualifies for the games because he has clubfoot and sustained a "bad footballing injury", which left him with "a lot of titanium plates [in his face] and a 3D printed eye socket".

O'Brien will compete in the PR3 mixed coxed four in the tournament in France.

The rower said: "I'm excited. Obviously the nerves are there, but it’s mainly excitement."

Josh O'Brien (second rower) said his family are "surprised" by how quickly he has progressed

O'Brien is relatively new to the sport, as he only started rowing two years ago whilst at university. Yet he said once he had begun he "never looked back".

His family were "shocked" but "very proud" of how quickly he progressed as an athlete, especially since - by O'Brien's own admission - "only about a year ago, [I] was messing around in a boat at uni," and now "[I am] going to be competing on the world stage".

The Paralympian said he "earned his spot in the boat" through a series of trials. He added that his team was "on a roll", after winning their last few races in the run up to the tournament and were "expected to do something special" to keep the streak going.

O'Brien said he will be cheered on by "as many people as possible" including a lot of his friends and family who were planning to fly out to Paris to support him.

The PR3 mixed coxed four heats will take place on 30 August.