POWELL Daniel

Classification
B1 (IBSA, 07 May 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (givemesport.com, 28 Jul 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (givemesport.com, 28 Jul 2015)

Impairment Details
His vision is affected by cone-rod dystrophy, a visual impairment that runs in his family. (givemesport.com, 28 Jul 2015)

General
RETURN TO JUDO
He left Para judo in 2013 after struggling living away from his family in Liverpool, England, while based in Dartford for training. Later that year he took up Para athletics, competing in sprint events and long jump, but returned to judo in 2018. "It was good fun but then in athletics there is the frustrations of dealing with hundredths of a second. You might train so hard for six or eight months and make a hundredth of a second either way, all the training could be for nothing. I was helping out doing some coaching at an amateur judo club and just enjoying it again. I went to a competition on a Sunday to support the kids, do a bit of coaching on the day and the head coach of the club turned round and said, 'There's some adults there if you want to jump in.' I just thought, 'Go on might as well.' I won the competition that day and it was a real buzz." (paralympics.org.uk, 14 Nov 2018; givemesport.com, 28 Jul 2015)

FATHERHOOD PERSPECTIVE
He says becoming a father to his son Edward in April 2019 has changed his perspective after defeats. "The first time around, judo was my whole world. I wanted to win for me and succeed for me. Now it's about more than just me. I had a really good world champs [in 2018], but after I lost my last fight, I needed a minute to myself. I had a breather, then thought, 'Now I get to go home and see my lad.' I love winning, but judo is no longer the only thing in my life, the relationship has changed. I love winning, and my burning desire is to get a Paralympic medal. However, if I don't get there, I still have amazing stories to tell my son in ten years' time." (Matside British Judo magazine, 01 Mar 2020; hellomagazine.com, 08 Mar 2020)

OCCUPATION
He is the head coach and a director of GNR8 Academy, a sports academy providing training and coaching based in Leicester, England. He is also a qualified sports masseur. (Twitter profile, 25 Mar 2021)

NINJA WARRIOR
In 2018 he took part in the television programme 'Ninja Warrior UK'. He was the first contestant with a visual impairment to compete on the show. "Ninja Warrior was a hundred times scarier than competing in London 2012. In London I knew what I was there to do, I knew what I was going into, I had practised loads. The crowd at Ninja Warrior was amazing though, it was just like the Paralympics. It made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck." (Instagram profile, 08 Jun 2018; thesun.co.uk, 27 Apr 2018)