Robyn Loveâ€
s childhood was like something out of a movie – but it wasnâ€
t the Hollywood fairytale sheâ€
d wanted as a child.
“Iâ€
ve always had proper Forrest Gump-style splints,†she recounts. “They were to try and straighten my legs and lengthen them.â€
But like the fictional film hero, nothing would stop her from running. And the Ayr ace, 26, is ready to script a magical storybook tale of her own when she hits the court in Rio this week as part of the British wheelchair basketball team at the Paralympics – just four years after having a crack for the very first time.
Born with a rare condition called arthrogryposis, caused by the umbilical cord wrapping herself around her legs in the womb, Loveâ€
s disability didnâ€
t stop her from being a sporting sponge.
Netball. Tennis. Basketball. Anything that was available.
Finishing up school, sheâ€
d had an operation that had been on the cards for most of her teens, a one-off crack at giving her legs a new look and easing the agonising back pains brought on by the way she walked.
“I had one surgery to lengthen and make my leg look straighter. They put a frame on to literally pull my bone apart. It is not the sexiest thing in the world.â€
It put her back on her feet. Back into the gym and onto the pitch and ready to play.
“That was my escape. It wasnâ€
t until I was about 20 that it started to go downhill. My back started to get really sore because I compensate a lot. My legs canâ€
t carry quite as far because Iâ€
ve got a lot of muscle weakness. Thatâ€
s when I started trying the wheelchair.â€
It was hard to accept at first, Love admits. The surgery was never going to provide a miracle cure. But sheâ€
d hoped it could slow the decline.
Going into a chair felt almost like giving up the fight against the cruel hand dealt by Lady Luck. And then wondering what would come next.
“It is quite emotional. Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking what am I going to be like in five years? The answer is I donâ€
t know. But itâ€
s not going to stop me doing the stuff I do now.â€
She wouldnâ€
t have missed the last two years for the world, ever since GB team bosses begged her to quit her bar job in Edinburgh and have a crack at playing full-time at their HQ in Worcester in a bid to make the Paralympic team after a crash course at top Scots club Lothian Phoenix.
“When you go into an environment when everybody is ten times better than you are, itâ€
s quite scary. I had potential. But when you play against people who are better, it makes you better, quicker.â€
You need to be tough to survive wheelchair hoops. No prisoners taken. Itâ€
s not quite as full-on as murderball – or wheelchair rugby as itâ€
s otherwise known – but thereâ€
s plenty of chair on chair action.
And Love said: “I love a bit of contact. I love a good bashing. It makes it a lot more fun for me. It brings out that fire and helps you focus more.â€
Her chair is custom-built. When she decided to target the Games, the manufacturers quoted a whopping four grand at least to make one especially for her. ‘How on earth am I going to get that kind of money?â€
she thought. A friend suggested an online appeal.
“Iâ€
m one of those people who hates asking for things. I have four sisters and weâ€
ve all been quite independent. But I thought: ‘urgh, Iâ€
ll just do it.â€
I came up with Love is in the Chair. I had to come up with something witty.
“I closed my eyes and clicked Start. Three weeks later, I had £3000. One guy who I didnâ€
t know gave me a grand. I was so grateful for all the people who chipped in ten pounds. I have still have that same chair here. And Iâ€
ll be playing for everyone who helped out.â€
And for her coaches and team-mates, of course, starting with Thursdayâ€
s opener against Canada – and then beyond.
“Fifth would be the highest weâ€
ve ever achieved – we got seventh in London – Iâ€
d be so proud if we did that.â€
This originally appeared in the Daily Record
The post PARALYMPICS: LOVE IS IN THE CHAIR appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.