Five things we learned from Olivia Breen's Paris Diaries

Three-time Paralympian Olivia Breen gave us a unique insight into life as a para athlete.

A special series for BBC Wales has given us an insight into the lives of some of Britain's top para athletes as they prepare for the Paris Paralympic Games.

Olivia Breen's Paris Diaries saw the three-time Paralympian sit down with her fellow athletes as they count down the days to one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

From what it's like to run with a blindfold on to why you should never write off the sporting ambitions of children with disabilities, the series provided an open and honest insight like no other.

Here are five things we learned.

'I was ashamed of my disability before London 2012'

The series kicked off with one of the biggest names in Para-athletics - Aled Sion Davies.

The 33-year-old shot put and discus thrower has won gold at each of his three Paralympic Games.

Anyone who has met him or seen him interviewed will know Davies as a confident guy - but speaking to Breen, he revealed it was not always the case.

Davies was born with hemimelia. His right leg was wrapped up round his back. His leg was broken in 17 places and cast into place. He had to have an operation every 16 months until he was 17 years old.

Davies says he never wore shorts in that time, so he could keep his disability hidden.

But not long after he started para athletics, London 2012 came along. Davies won gold in the F42 discus and his life changed forever.

He told Olivia that the Games gave him a confidence he had never experienced before.

Never write anyone with a disability off

Laura Sugar is a remarkable, multi-sport athlete.

She has played hockey for Wales, been to a Paralympic Games in athletics and in 2021 she won Paralympic gold after switching to Para-canoe.

Yet when she was born with talipes, or club foot, a doctor told her parents she would be absolutely fine as long as she did not want to do sport at a high level.

As Breen told her, Sugar certainly proved that doctor wrong.

The perils of running with a blindfold on

James Ledger joined Breen at the 2024 UK Athletics Championships as he continued his journey in a new event.

The partially-sighted sprinter from Swansea recently switched from T12 to T11 - meaning he must now run with a blindfold and guide runner.

The relationship between athlete and guide is crucial. And, as Ledger revealed, it took a bit of getting used to.

A world champion's hidden talent

Sabrina Fortune is arguably one of the country's most underrated Para-athletes.

The F20 shot putter is now a three-time world champion and recently broke the world record twice at the World Championships.

Fortune will have high hopes of what she can do in Paris.

But outside of the shot put circle, she revealed a hidden talent to Breen.

Fortune has painstakingly taught herself how to animate - and showed Breen a video she had made of a jet. It took Fortune eight hours to complete the animation.

She says she enjoys the artform so much that she is looking into studying it at university when her athletics career is over.

How rugby helped Harrison Walsh's resilience

Harrison Walsh grew up dreaming of running out at the Principality Stadium, playing rugby for Wales.

He had already represented them at under-18 level and was part of Ospreys' academy.

But then, just before the U20 Six Nations in 2015, a serious knee injury on the field left Walsh with permanent knee damage and his rugby career was over.

A few years later he took up Para-athletics and began his rise up the F64 discus rankings. Walsh was selected for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

But just a day before his competition, Walsh suffered a serious ankle injury and was unable to compete.

Now he's hoping for another chance in Paris - and he revealed to Breen how he has stayed positive despite his injuries.

You can listen to the full series of Olivia Breen's Paris Diaries on BBC Sounds now.