WIGGS Emma

Classification
KL2, VL2 (ICF, 23 Sep 2020)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (bbc.com, 03 Mar 2016)

Impairment Details
At age 18 she contracted a virus that affected her neurological system while she was on a gap year in Australia. The illness resulted in paralysis in her legs. "I was chasing and shearing sheep and working on a farm. About six weeks in I contracted a virus, we still don't know where from, but it basically left me paralysed in my arms and legs overnight." (bbc.com, 03 Mar 2016; portsmouth.co.uk, 11 Oct 2011)

General
COMING OUT
She believes there is a stereotype surrounding female athletes and homosexuality, and that Para athletes can struggle to come to terms with their sexual orientation. "Quite often there's a stigma attached to females being sporty, that everyone must be lesbians. I find that a real struggle, although I can't really buck the trend. Maybe some feel like they have their disability to deal with. If a disabled person comes out as gay, is that going to be an extra thing? Maybe it's another barrier, as if they think they can't fight another cause. If you look at the percentage of females who drop out of sport, is that because if they carry on doing sport, people are going to think they're lesbians? What does it matter? We can't be doing that to people. It's too important to have people choosing to not do sport because of what other people might speak. That's a really dangerous place to be in. I'd love for that to change, because while I don't buck the trend, I just think it would never happen in men's sport. It would never happen to the same degree." (telegraph.co.uk, 20 Feb 2020)

BODY IMAGE
Before she took up Para sport she says she was self-conscious about her body image and concerned that she wouldn't be able to do the same sort of exercise as when she was able-bodied. She also did not want to gain too much muscle, as she was afraid of being stereotyped. "I was always really paranoid about being fat and in a wheelchair, because I didn't see how I would ever shift it. I used to eat no carbs, it was a body image thing. When I got that right, I made so many more gains in the gym, put on more size and the boats went faster. My body shape is very different now compared to when I came into this sport. That isn't feminine, so then am I exacerbating this stereotypical image of female athletes being gay, muscly, butch? Yes, I am." (telegraph.co.uk, 20 Feb 2020)

INJURY STRUGGLE
She considered quitting competitive sport after her wrist injury in 2018. "With the injury it's the first time in my life I've really felt quite disabled. It probably sounds weird coming from a person who's been in a wheelchair for more than 20 years, but it's been that tough." She recovered to win a gold medal in the VL2 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. (bbc.co.uk, 22 Aug 2019)