The Long Win – a feelgood story of Danielle Brown PLY MBE
I first met Dani on a Skype call in late 2013. My first impression of her was here is a broken woman, a shell of who she really is. Her first impression of me was ‘not another bloody male, pale and stale sports administrator.’ (I know it’s true, she told me!)
Dani is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist in archery having not only beaten the best in Beijing (2008) and London (2012) but also represented Team England with ‘able- bodied’ athletes at the Delhi Commonwealth Games (2010). She was on a roll and was going to defend her Paralympic title in Rio – until politics and the opaque world of the paralympic classification got in the way.
Dani lives with Regional Pain Syndrome a neurological condition that leaves her with chronic pain 24/7, an inability to walk short distances without crutches, and needing to use a wheelchair. Her classification assessment required a mixture of objective and subjective measures and was undertaken by IPC or International Federation accredited assessors. Dani’s problem was she was so far ahead of the other athletes in her class. Fantastic for the ‘marginal gains’ obsessed British system but frustrating for the competing nations who also needed medals to justify funding for their performance programmes too. So, the rumours and protests started that Dani was in the wrong classification category and she should be in a category for more ‘able’ athletes and there were demands for her to be re-classified. She went for her re- assessment and told me when we spoke that it was the most painful and humiliating experience she had ever been put through. This from a woman with regional pain syndrome!
Surprise, surprise she was re-classified and put in another category where she knew that the third gold would prove elusive. She was done and she ran away to New Zealand where her partner lived. I first heard about Dani, not from her National Governing Body, but on a BBC Sport report on their website. It neither felt right nor smelt right so, as CEO of the British Athletes Commission, I spoke to the NGB to see what they were doing about it. The answer was nothing. I was told ‘It’s very difficult Ian, you see we have somebody standing for election in the International Federation and we don’t want to jeopardise their chances’
What’s that got to do with it? I thought. The answer was of course ‘everything’ and Dani was truly on her own and on the other side of the world. Thankfully with the help of pro bono support from the solicitors Lewis Silkin we mounted an appeal. We weren’t successful in the appeal but more importantly we were successful in making Dani realise she was not on her own and that there were people who believed in her and supported her through transition into a life after sport.
Now an award-winning author, speaker and mentor, Dani has excelled, and we have met, and indeed worked with each other briefly. I saw Dani one day in London a few years back when we were both speaking at a conference, and I watched her as she walked towards me with difficulty on her crutches (Dani is fiercely independent). I asked her why she didn’t use her ‘chair. ‘Ian, I have to believe that there’ll will be a cure for people like me with this condition and I am going to be around to benefit.’ Her comment took my breath away. What courage. What resilience. It put my world into perspective – and maybe yours too?
Dani and I spoke again recently. Sky Sports News are running a series of athlete profiles as part of their build up to the Paris Games and Dani is featured talking about athlete ‘retirement’ or transition. You can listen to Dani’s particular episode by clicking on the link below.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qocyy6ntbwjaKkZPyOEBZ?si=NrAFrfA1SseS3dwiZOHE1w
But Dani was also in touch with me to ask whether I’d give her a reference for a job she’s applying for. My answer was of course ‘Yes.’ She and her partner Sean are emigrating to New Zealand. I asked her what her parents thought of her going to the other side of world to live. Dani told them of a time when she was last there when she and Sean went for a walk on the beach. After 15 minutes or so Sean asked her where her crutches were. They were in the car. She had walked unassisted without thinking!
Warmer climate, sitting in geo -thermal pools, and swimming had all helped Dani gain more mobility with less pain. ‘GO!’ said her parents and she is.
Dani has won so much more than medals and will continue to do so inspiring me and many others as she goes. In a quote from the excellent book ‘Greenlights’ by Matthew McConaughey he says
‘Always accept the challenge. You’ll always regret not knowing. Leave your scent.’
Dani has accepted the challenge that life has given her for sure and yes she’s leaving her scent wherever she goes all right. And that’s good.