Sidbury aims to continue rebuilding after ‘challenging’ time

After what he describes as an “incredibly challenging” couple of years, wheelchair racer Danny Sidbury admits that he now has a healthier approach to the sport.

Sidbury (Sutton & District, Christine Parsloe), who competes in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland which runs from Thursday to Saturday, has T54 1500m European silver and world 800m and 5000m bronze medals to his name.

However, after making his Paralympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, his eagerly anticipated Paris 2024 Paralympic campaign was one to forget.

Sidbury was in confident mood approaching the Games but picked up an illness at the preparation camp. When it came to competition time, he knew that things were still not right, including the sensation of finding himself struggling to push his chair.

He pulled out of the Games before his final race and the 32-year-old, who is based in Spain, has been working with a psychologist to help deal with the physical and mental impact of that, plus managing ongoing wrist injuries.

“I was very frustrated and confused as to why things had gone so horribly wrong, but that’s the nature of racing, and I guess of life as well,” he explains.

“Things don’t always go to plan. You’ve got to be flexible and find new ways of doing things and moving on and improving.

“I have made improvements, especially mentally, since Paris. I’m definitely in a much better headspace, much more positive and upbeat about things and with a radically healthier approach to racing.

“Even though I’m still not where I would like to be in terms of times and ranking, I’m enjoying it a lot more – probably more than any of the podiums that I ever got. So, I think it makes for a very strong foundation moving forward.”

Sidbury started his season in the Swiss Championships and Daniela Jutzeler Memorial events in Arbon last week and will be among almost 400 athletes from over 40 countries who will be in action on the Nottwil track, which is traditionally one of the fastest in the world.

Among his rivals in a top-class field will be multiple world and Paralympic champion Marcel Hug the Swiss ‘Silver Bullet’, who won last month’s London Marathon for a record-equalling eighth time, once again hoping to be the star attraction on home soil.

For Sidbury, plotting a way to get the better of Hug, who won his first major international title 20 years ago and remains at the top of his game, is a challenge he relishes.

“The T54 class is one of the most intense in the Paralympics and breeds very good competition, which is as an athlete is exactly what we want. Nothing is easy but I like a challenge,” he says.

“I’ve always loved competing in Switzerland. It is the Mecca of wheelchair racing and everyone who is anyone comes here.

“You want to see how where you stack up against the world’s best and what you need to work on. It is a very useful opportunity and can be very revealing.

“I am very fortunate to be a T54 because it represents the pinnacle of wheelchair racing in terms of the speeds, the times and the technology. It feels like an immense privilege to be able to be part of it all.

“Marcel remains that little bit further ahead than everyone else, but I think the gap is closing.

“Athletes are now familiar with how he likes to race, and they’re able to be a little more tactical and savvier. It makes the racing a bit closer and hopefully more exciting to watch.”

And Sidbury will be hoping for more of that exciting racing later this summer when he bids to win a second Commonwealth Games medal for Team England in the T54 1500m in Glasgow.

A silver medallist behind team-mate Nathan Maguire (Kirkby, Ste Hoskins) four years ago in Birmingham, the event will give him another chance to banish the disappointment of Paris.

“What is special for me is the fact that non-disabled and Para-athletes get to compete under one roof,” he says.

“Birmingham was a different sensation to some other competitions and major championships that I’ve done before with larger crowds and more media.

“And while Switzerland is where you compete against athletes from across the world and is a better reflection of our sport, I’m delighted to compete anywhere.”

You can watch all the action from Nottwill here