Interview

1. Can you share with us your journey into becoming a Paralympic swimmer and your motivation behind promoting para sports with the Maltese Paralympic Committee?
I mean my journey in sports really started before I was born, as both of my parents were professional athletes so I got into sports really early in my childhood. My first sport was rhythmic gymnastics, and then I tried many other sports. I think the tipping point for me to get into swimming was when I got injured when I was 17 so I had a spinal cord injury, and I got into swimming as part of the rehabilitation process. I got very inspired by the London Paralympic Games and I saw that I was really keen to compete at the next edition of the Games.  So that is how I got involved into competitive swimming.  At that time, it was something very new, even locally so it was very much a trial-and-error process.

It was really interesting to compete.  When I was at the competition, I was reflecting a little bit about how far I was about to come. Obviously, I've seen other athletes who have been competing with me for years, and there are new ones.  Yes, the whole experience was so different then it was years ago, it really made a huge difference.  I got into sports basically after my injury and my main concern is contributing to the Paralympic movement locally and internationally. I mean first of all when I had started there wasn’t really an organization of Paralympic sports in Malta. Malta was very successful in the 60s and 70s during the Paralympic Games, we even had some medalists but there was a very long period of time where there weren’t participants and kind of there wasn’t any administrative base. So even for me, if I wanted to continue the sport and take it seriously, there had to be the administrative report that the athletes cannot really do without. So that’s how I got into the Executive Committee and I’m still on the board. I think by trying to help myself indirectly and also help others in the process.

2. How has participating in para sports impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
I think not specifically para-sports but sports in general, really makes not just a difference in your development but also as an individual and as a profession. I was really lucky to be involved in sports when I was young, so it really helped me with my personal development. You know, building some confidence, discipline also skills which are transferable into everyday life, and then eventually to your education and in your professional setting. I always say that I am a sports evangelist, if it was in my power, I would basically get everyone involved in sports, in one way or another there is always something that you can learn from practicing sports.

3. As an ambassador for para sports, what message do you aim to convey to the community, and how do you hope to inspire others with disabilities to engage in sports?
I have been within the Paralympic movement and in para-sports for the past 10 years and I think the community would work and think about accessibility, because often you don’t think about it until you actually encounter it. So I became a wheelchair user at the age of 17 and things like steps and lifts were things that I never thought of, you know it wasn’t part of my everyday life or field of vision. But once you’re actually faced with them you realise how unacceptable sometimes the infrastructure is. So, thinking about that and being aware of it is so important because you never know, and you might be in that position tomorrow. Whenever we design staircases. if we are talking about sporting facilities and programmes, I think it’s really important to think about how and to what extent you are accommodating. And the individuals with disabilities must be open to the world and the world will be open to you, because you will never find anything which is perfectly done, or ideal, or up to standard, but I realised it was like a two-way process.  The more you engage, the more others are willing to give you a hand and also to encourage you to get involved in sports, or anything else for that matter.

4. Do you see any parallels between the discipline required in swimming and the meticulous nature of your job, and how do these aspects complement each other in your life?  In previous years how was it compatible, when you were working in accounting?
I mean I would say it’s very different, but swimming really helped me to get through probably the corporate environment and I have proper time-management. Sports was something that complimented my career and vice-versa, I learned a lot through my professional career.

5. What advice do you have for individuals juggling demanding careers with their personal pursuits and aspirations, particularly those who may be facing physical challenges?
Yes, I mean dual-career is something quite interesting and I believe it has really picked up in different countries.  Obviously, the sporting systems are very different between countries so some countries can afford to have professional full-time athletes whilst some don’t. 

I think dual career for athletes is something really important that needs to be embraced and also encouraged from a young age. I think a dual career needs to be promoted and encouraged from a very young age.  It is also sometimes discouraging to think that I was never able to train on a full-time basis and would not be able to make it to the highest level. But in reality, I have now been living for three years in the United Kingdom and I’ve come to realise that there are a lot of athletes who do that on a daily basis and still reached decent results.  So I think that Dual Career needs to be promoted and encouraged from a young age.  I reckon that the three main points here should be; one, being to set your goals, where you want to go and what you want to achieve, two; how you are going to get there and three; having really good time management. 

6. Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations, both in your career as an accountant and in your continued journey as a Paralympic swimmer?
I mean my general aspiration is to contribute as much as I can through the experiences and knowledge I've gained throughout the years, not just to the Paralympic community but to the sports sector in general because I believe it’s such an important part of our society, and not only for the development of young people but it helps in dealing with different social aspects. Lately I have been reading a lot about it and getting to know more about how sports actually tackles violence against women and girls and how it promotes gender equality and leadership position. Sports plays a massive role in building our community and our society so I think it’s been a great privilege having been involved in sports as an athlete and also as an administrator, so I think my aspirations would be to use my skills and my knowledge to advance more sports participation in our society.