I was diagnosed with a C4 complete spinal cord injury after a gymnastics accident in 2004 which left me paralysed from the chest down. After my accident I was immediately keen to be active again. I started the first phase of the FES rowing in May 2006 and it wasn’t long before I was rowing the Olympic distance of 2000m. My original time was in the 40 minutes but I have since cut this down to nearly 20 minutes with training at Brunel with Robin and London Regatta Centre with Simon and Paola. The rowing is tough yet enjoyable and since the start my fitness has improved, the muscle tone in my legs has significantly increased and the training gives me a psychological lift. Paola also gives me greater freedom when I row allowing me to gain more independence.