TAYLOR Michael

Great Britain

Triathlon

Date of Birth: 9 Dec 1995

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Sport Class: PTS4

Place of birth: BARNSTAPLE

Birth Country:

Great Britain

Place of residence : BRISTOL

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Triathlon	Men's PTS4	8

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Odaiba Marine Park	Men's PTS4	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
European Championships
6	PTS4	2019	Valencia, ESP	1:08:46

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Physiotherapy - Cardiff University, Great Britain

Languages spoken:

English

Coach:

Rhys Davey [national], GBR

Start:

He took up Para triathlon in February 2017 at a Tri4Tokyo event held at Loughborough University in England. He received his first running blade in May 2017 and competed in his first triathlon two days later. He had begun swimming as part of his rehabilitation following his amputation. (dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017; britishtriathlon.org, 14 Sep 2019)

Reason:

He was inspired to take up triathlon after watching British triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee win gold and silver medals respectively at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I lost my leg in the summer of 2016, and watching triathlon on TV at the Olympics and Paralympics made me want to give it a go. I was looking for something else to do as I couldn't really play rugby any more. I signed up for a triathlon taster day in February 2017, and could do the swim and cycle okay, but I couldn't run properly as I didn't have a running blade. Even so, I really enjoyed it." (teambathtv YouTube channel, 14 May 2021; northdevongazette.co.uk, 11 Feb 2021; dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (teambathtv YouTube channel, 14 May 2021)

Training:

In September 2020 he began training up to three times a week at the British Triathlon National Performance Centre at the University of Bath's Sports Training Village in England. (northdevongazette.co.uk, 11 Feb 2021; teambath.com, 14 May 2021)

Influence:

His mother. (dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017)

Philosophy:

"The best advice I can give anyone is to surround yourself with positive people and give yourself goals to strive towards. Keep active and do something you love. Swimming feels like freedom to me." (dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017)

General Interest

Classification
PTS4 (ITU, 25 Jun 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017)

Impairment Details
His left leg was amputated below the knee in 2016 as the result of an infection to his foot and ankle. He had begun to experience ankle pain in August 2015 which became progressively worse over the following nine months as the infection spread to his foot before it was detected. He was advised to have the bones in his foot and ankle fused, but opted for amputation to prevent the infection spreading further. "I'd had 10 months to get used to the idea, and that any other operations would be a temporary measure. I spoke to a few people and they told me they were so much better once they'd cut it off, and this meant I'd be pain free and could get on with my life." (dorset-ortho.com, 01 Sep 2017)

General
MEDICAL STUDIES
In September 2020 he started the first year of a medical degree at the University of Bristol in England. He had originally planned to start the course after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, but brought forward his plans when the Games were postponed. "I was really excited for 2020 because of everything that could've happened. I was pretty gutted with everything that went on, especially as for ages there didn't seem to be an end in sight. I'd been training full-time as part of the British Para triathlon performance squad in Loughborough since the previous November, but I decided to go back to studying after coronavirus hit. Studying medicine is something I've wanted to do since before I lost my leg, and the plan was always to pursue it after Tokyo. But with the postponement, I decided to bring it forward a year. I previously studied physiotherapy at Cardiff University, so a lot of that is relevant, and so far I'm really enjoying it." (bristol.ac.uk, 23 Jul 2021; northdevongazette.co.uk, 11 Feb 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as a beach lifeguard with the British Royal National Lifeboat Institution and has trained in surf lifesaving. (britishtriathlon.org, 14 Sep 2019)

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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