I was born in Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex but moved at an early age to Ardingly, near Haywards Heath in the same county.

I am 23-years-old and have two brothers, one older and one twin. I learnt to sail at Ardingly Reservoir and then started Sailing and racing at Weir Wood sailing Club in Forest Row, East Sussex.

I began sailing in an Optimist which is a small junior dinghy. At age 14 I was looking for a new boat to sail as I was nearly too old for the Optimist. I found the International 2.4mR Class which is a fourteen foot single handed keelboat. It is currently the single handed keelboat discipline at the Paralympic Games.

I started competing locally at Weir Wood Sailing Club and at national events in the 2.4. In 2002 I was lucky enough to be able to start competing internationally.

After the World Championships in Holland where I came twenty fifth I was invited to join the Team GBR Paralympic Development Squad. In 2005 I managed to come fifth at the World Championships in Denmark which allowed me to join Skandia Team GBR Performance Paralympic Squad.

Since then I have come second in the Paralympic trials for Beijing in 2008. I am now looking forward to the Paralympics coming to Weymouth and Portland and hopefully representing my country.

There can only be one boat selected for the Paralympics in each discipline so getting selected for the team will be the first challenge.

I’ve been living in Fortuneswell on and off for two years and I hope I can give you an insight into life as a member of Skandia Team GBR.

Megan