Last Updated on 02/09/2024 by Crip Life
Kieran Flynn is a wheelchair rugby player who will be one of five debutants joining the ParalympicsGB squad, which will seek to defend their Paralympic title at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games this summer.
As part of our ParalympicsGB debutants interview series, our editor, Emma Purcell, speaks to Kieran Flynn about becoming a wheelchair rugby player, his sporting success so far and what he is most looking forward to at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Kieran Flynn made his international debut two years ago at the European Championships after being on the development squad since 2018. He will be making his Paralympic debut in Paris.
He was a former rugby player as a Centre for his local team Crewe and Nantwich. Following a tackle during a match in 2013, he sustained a spinal injury. After several months of rehab in hospital, Kieran returned to university to complete his law degree.
His love for sport remained strong and he was keen to get back to being active so joined his local wheelchair rugby team RGC (Rygbi Gogledd Cymru)
in North Wales. After a year there, he moved to Leicester Tigers, who remain his current club.
In 2021, after a couple of years of hard work and continued development, Kieran was invited to a GB selection camp and subsequently named as a member of the GB long squad. His debut for GB was at the European Championships in Paris in 2022, where he was part of the team that won a silver medal.
Now aged 32, Kieran will be joining a 12-player squad in Paris, which will feature an exciting mix of four other Paralympic debutants named alongside an experienced line-up of players who have featured in multiple Paralympic Games, including seven athletes who made history by winning ParalympicsGB’s first-ever gold in the sport at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games.
The epic ParalympicsGB final victory over Team USA was the second most watched event of Tokyo 2020 on Channel 4.
Captained by Gavin Walker with the support of Vice-Captain Stuart Robinson, the other selected athletes heading to Paris are: Jonathan Coggan, Nick Cummins, Aaron Phipps, Jack Smith, Jamie Stead and fellow debutants Dan Kellett, Ollie Mangion, Tyler Walker and David Ross.
Read on to find out more about Kieran Flynn in his own words and scroll down to see his Paris 2024 results.
Kieran Flynn on living with a spinal injury
You sustained your spinal injury while playing rugby union. Do you remember much from your accident?
To be honest, I don’t remember too much. I remember going in for a tackle and being lifted and the last thing I remember was when I was on my way down vertically. I guess the next 10 minutes or so were a bit of a blur.
I remember regaining consciousness with people around me and my arms out to the side. I was flat on my back but it felt as though my legs were 90° to my body. I couldn’t move my arms and the physio at the time was already holding my neck. It was a strange feeling, not knowing what was going on.
What were your immediate thoughts when you found out you’d be a wheelchair user?
Devastation I guess would be the first word! I remember being in a meeting with the consultant, nurses and my immediate family and the first question I asked was, “Am I going to walk again?” To be told no at the age of 21 (or any age for that matter) is something that you could never prepare yourself for. I remember crying, it was a gut-wrenching feeling. I guess very quickly I had to deal with that and to try and become the best version of myself that I could.
What is your level of spinal injury and how does your disability affect you on a daily basis?
I am a C6/C7 tetraplegic. I am paralysed below the chest with limited hand function so day-to-day tasks can be extremely difficult. Having a spinal cord injury that affects my body temperature regulation, ability to cough, lung capacity and ability to feel pain, heat etc below my chest, can be dangerous.
Kieran Flynn on becoming a wheelchair rugby player
Were you aware of wheelchair rugby before your injury and following your accident, did you decide straight away to get into it or were you introduced later in your recovery?
A former Paralympian Tony Stackhouse used to come into the Spinal Unit at Oswestry Hospital to try and introduce the sport to new players! At first, I had very little interest. I remember going to a session and being completely overwhelmed by how slow and unfit/unable I was compared to everybody else.
I decided to not carry on with the sport and focus on my rehabilitation. Eventually, I decided to give the sport a go again. I fell in love with its physical and tactical nature. What other sport would you see two wheelchair users smashing into each other?
I wasn’t aware of wheelchair rugby before my injury despite being a keen sportsman and rugby player. I had a session probably a year after my injury and as I have already said have my second session until the middle of 2017, four years after my injury.
What has been the highlight of your wheelchair rugby career so far?
Making my Great Britain debut would probably be the stand-out moment for me. Soon to be surpassed at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Away from rugby, you also completed a law degree. Why that subject and are you considering going into the legal sector in the future?
In my nature, I am very analytical. I enjoy critical thinking and solving problems, especially with research. I have also always enjoyed dynamic and challenging environments that allow me to continue to develop as an individual so I thought that law would be a good career for me. The door is definitely still open, however, I see myself playing rugby in my medium to long-term future.
Kieran Flynn on preparing for Paris 2024
How does it feel to be selected for your first Paralympic Games?
Honestly, I am just so proud! The 21-year-old me who had just broken his neck, couldn’t move his arms, couldn’t feed himself or even operate an iPad never envisaged being able to compete as an elite athlete at the pinnacle of any sport.
I have worked so hard for this moment to be part of this great team and I am so excited to grasp this opportunity.
How have your own/team’s preparations been going for Paris 2024?
Preparations have been good. We have been preparing now for the last three years. We have certainly had ups and downs. It has taken time to find out what works for us and to develop the skills that we need.
We are in a really good place as a team right now and we are working hard to fine-tune things in the build-up to the Paralympic Games, which I have no doubt will put us right where we want to be, fighting for that back-to-back gold medal.
What are you looking forward to the most at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, as well as aiming to defend GB’s gold medal?
Absolutely everything! Representing ParalympicsGB, experiencing the Paralympic Games for the first time, being part of a huge team but ultimately my biggest and most important focus is on the rugby. All of our players and staff will need to be at their very best for us to maximise our potential in Paris.
You can find out more about Kieran Flynn by following him on Instagram.
Paris 2024 Paralympics: Wheelchair rugby results
Great Britain headed to Paris to defend their Paralympic gold medal from Tokyo 2020. The squad’s opening group games were all wins against current World Champions Australia (58 – 55), Denmark (55 – 53) and France (50 – 49).
GB’s semifinal saw them meet again with their Tokyo final opponents USA but the Brits failed to execute a fourth consecutive win and go on to retain the gold, losing 43 – 50.
The team went onto meet Australia again in the bronze medal match but the Steelers redeemed themselves from the opening match, beating GB 50 – 48. Therefore, the ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby squad had to settle for a fourth-place finish in Paris.
Reacting to the result, ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby captain, Gavin Walker, said:
“If you’d have asked me two years ago, I’d have probably snatched your hand off for the experience of playing for a bronze medal. In the end there were too many errors really in the game. We finished it with a timeout and that could have stopped the turnover in our favour, so the better team beat us on the day.
“The team and what we’ve managed to develop over the years has been outstanding and I’m really proud of getting to this stage and the performances we’ve put in. We go into another rebuilding process, another four years ahead of us and looking towards LA now.
“For fans out there and people who are watching this, we’re all playing this sport after starting life with a disability or going through some sort of traumatic injury. The fact that any athlete in the Paralympics is competing shows they’ve overcome adversity and everyone should be proud of any performance. I guess that’s the main message for anyone out there that is struggling – this is something that can get you out of those dark times.”
USA and Japan faced off in a nail-biting final that saw Japan win gold with a scoreline of 48 – 41.
Be sure to catch up on Kieran Flynn and the rest of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby squad’s journey at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Channel 4.
What is wheelchair rugby?
Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a regulation-size basketball court by teams of four, using a white ball that is identical in size and shape to a volleyball. Teams are mixed, with men and women competing equally in the same team.
A match consists of four eight-minute quarters and the team scoring the greatest number of goals wins.
To score an athlete must cross the opposing team’s goal line in firm control of the ball. Two wheels must cross the goalline for a score to count.
Athletes must dribble or pass the ball every 10 seconds with failure to do so resulting in the referee handing possession of the ball to the opposing team.
Contact between wheelchairs is permitted and forms an integral part of the game. However, hitting an opponent’s chair behind the rear wheel results in penalisation, as does making physical contact with an opponent.
Players may lose possession of the ball, serve a one-minute penalty or be disqualified depending on the extent of the foul committed.
Check out other interviews with wheelchair rugby players Steve Brown and Chris Ryan.