Former mental health officer Beth Munro thought she was too placid to be a fighter but is now bidding for a taekwondo gold in her second Paralympics.

While working at universities, she was encouraged by a student who played wheelchair basketball to attend an event, where she ended up being scouted by Disability Sport Wales for javelin.

From javelin, she was persuaded to try taekwondo, and despite an initial reluctance, it ignited a spark that she had not felt since playing netball growing up.

“I told my coach I was too placid to ever be a fighter,” she said. “He persuaded me to try it and it just escalated from there.

“I took the bull by the horns – I started properly with GB in March 2021 and six months later, I had won silver (at the Paralympics).

“I do look back and have to pinch myself when I say it out loud - because it’s like ‘Woah, that actually happened in my life’ – but it’s amazing and the journey has been very good."

Without the pandemic, things could have been different for the 30-year-old from Liverpool.

While many were at home doing quizzes on Zoom, Munro discovered that she could practise taekwondo on video calls.

This new ‘work from home’ setup for Munro meant that the taekwondo took precedence over javelin to avoid spears ending up in her living room walls.

Had the Paralympics taken place the year they were supposed to in 2020, Munro would not have even been introduced to the combat sport.

Instead, Munro secured ParalympicsGB’s first ever para taekwondo medal when she won silver in Tokyo in 2021.

“It’s been a crazy fast-paced journey from having never done taekwondo before to getting to the heights I have reached already,” she added.

“The Paralympics in Tokyo was the first ever taekwondo competition I did with four fights in one day - and I managed to make it to the final.

“I’m a firm believer that things fell into place so well, it really was perfect timing. Had Covid not happened, I would never have made those Games.”

Munro is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – this is vital for her pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

While grateful for how things worked out three years ago, the world number one is wanting to go one better this time and is excited for the challenge ahead.

“It’s definitely a boost to be ranked number one,” she added. “But you go in on the day and the ranking doesn’t mean anything, you just have to be the best. 

“I have some butterflies in my belly, but I’m mostly excited. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere of the village and having spectators there which will be electrifying.

“More so, because all of my family are coming to watch me. I’ve got 60 to 70 of my closest friends and family coming to cheer me on, which is just amazing.”

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