Watson going for gold once again

Glossop cyclist Ben Watson has once again been chosen to represent Great Britain in the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris. 

The 35-year-old got his Paralympic career off to the perfect start at the 2020 Tokyo Games, winning two gold medals on debut in both the individual time-trial and the road race.  

Watson will be looking to defend these medals next month, firstly in the Men’s C3 Individual Time Trial, which takes place on September 4, followed by the Men’s C1-3 Road Race, which gets underway on September 7. 

With the first race taking place in just under two weeks' time, Watson’s preparations are well underway: 

“Training has really stepped up over the past few weeks,” the double gold medallist told the Chronicle.  

“I’ve started to hit some great numbers, but I suppose you never know how you’re going to do until you’re at that start line. 

“I’ve followed the exact same procedures that brought me success last time out so hopefully I’ll have the same results. 

“I like the course; it really suits me. It’s pretty technical, and you usually get rewarded for carrying speed throughout those technical sections so I’m looking forward to it.” 

Though Watson admits training can be very demanding at times, he says it is more than worthwhile: 

“There are some tough aspects, and some not so tough aspects," the Stockport-born star said. 

“I've been out in Spain over the past few weeks as part of our warm weather training camp- it’s been lovely to get some sun, but what hasn’t been so fun is training in the 40-degree heat. 

“We have to do a lot of warm weather training to get used to the heat which can be tough- back in Manchester I was sent a huge greenhouse to train in, that wasn’t particularly nice. 

“I was training it the blazing sunshine with the humidifier on! 

“There’s a lot of groundwork that goes into it too- it’s lovely riding in the summer but when you’ve got to do a five-hour ride through sleet in the winter it’s not so great. 

“As challenging as it can be, it is so rewarding- that's why I’m still here post Tokyo. I could’ve hung up my proverbial wheels, but I’m in such a privileged position where I get to represent my country by just doing what I love.” 

As mentioned, Paris will not be Watson’s first Paralympic Games, after winning gold in Tokyo- which he admits came as quite a surprise: 

“Tokyo was amazing, but unexpected- I hoped to win a medal but I never thought I’d end up with two golds. 

“I can’t quite put it into words, it’s an experience I’ll never forget. 

“The medals are really cool but for me it’s about the experiences I had along the way, the people I’ve met and the teammates I’ve worked with- those will last longer in the memory than the medals.” 

Watson’s astonishing achievements seem that bit more special when you consider his backstory- aged 14, his world was turned upside down after being diagnosed with Guillain Barre syndrome, a condition that causes the immune system to attack the nervous system. 

Following his diagnosis, Watson spent five months in hospital before being wheelchair bound for the next nine months, meaning he effectively had to learn to walk again. 

“At first I just tried to block it out, I didn’t want to accept it," the 35-year-old told the Chronicle. 

“In hindsight, that was probably not the right way to go about it- I was just very angry at points, and I felt annoyed at the world. 

“Thanks to cycling, I have grown to accept it a lot more- it doesn’t define me, it’s a part of who I am and a part of my journey.  

“Having good people around me was really key, my parents and my partner are my rocks- I couldn’t have done it without them. 

“How they approach the world has really rubbed off on me- they have a very positive outlook on things which has helped me massively.” 

Though the news of his diagnosis was heartbreaking at the time, Watson admits he may not have gone onto achieve what he has without it: 

“I used to play a lot of team sports like football and rugby but of course I had to give those up following my diagnosis. 

“This then led me to start mountain biking- who knows what my pathway would’ve been if I hadn’t got ill, I may have never taken up cycling.” 

Having cycled as a hobby for a number of years, it wasn’t until 2016 when Watson realised the talent he possesed: 

“I didn’t even consider the Paralympics as an option until 2016, one of my friends worked for British Cycling and he said they were hosting a talent ID session following the Olympics in Rio. 

“I ended up going down on a bit of a whim, but it all snowballed from there really. 

After impressing at the talent ID session, Watson was brought onto British Cycling’s academy programme in 2017. 

From there he was selected for the World Championship’s where he won a silver medal, which in turn, got him a funded spot with Paralympics GB. 

From there, Watson was able to quit his job and go full-time. 

To top off a stellar couple of years, after winning two golds in Tokyo, Watson was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List for his services to cycling. 

With one Paralympic Games already under his belt, the former chartered surveyor already has the taste for it, and is raring to go this time around: 

“The main thing I’m looking forward to is all my family and friends being there, I missed out on that at the last games due to the pandemic so having them there this time around will be amazing. 

“The whole vibe of the Olympics this year has been brilliant, seeing some of the Team GB cyclists I know well succeeding has been great- to think it’s our turn in a few weeks is just spine-tingling.” 

Both of Watson’s races will be shown live on Channel 4, with the time trial taking place on September 4 and the road race commencing on September 7.