Larne Paralympian Taggart ready for Tokyo challenge

Larne woman Claire Taggart is preparing for her second Paralympics in Tokyo after becoming Northern Ireland's first Boccia Paralympian in 2016.

"Regardless of how severe your disability is, Boccia is the perfect sport," says the 26-year-old who was able-bodied until the age of 17 before being diagnosed with a condition called dystonia which contracts muscles in the body.

"Northern Ireland is really good at encouraging our young people to get involved in sport and particularly disability sport but I think we need to focus more on getting people who have a severe disability involved in sport."

Claire has had to shield for much of the pandemic but her preparations for Tokyo received a boost in June when she was given sole access to a local venue which enabled her to train as the Games approached.