Luke Sinnott hails London Anniversary Games as 'amazing beacon of hope'

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Army veteran and para-athlete Luke Sinnott says major sports events where disabled and able-bodied athletes compete alongside one another are “a beacon of hope”.

The 37-year-old former captain, who lost both legs after standing on an IED in Afghanistan in 2010, said such sporting events were an “inspiration” to any disabled people who might be “looking for a focus in life”.

He was speaking to the Standard weeks before he was due to compete in the T61 200m sprint at the Muller Anniversary Games in London, where para-athletes and able-bodied athletes compete during the same weekend.

He said the event, which will take place at the London Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, was a chance to relive the success of the 2012 Paralympics.

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Surrey-born Sinnott said: “These anniversary games are amazing things. It is reliving what was a great moment in paralympic sport.

“All of us that have faced something horrific that has changed our lives forever are looking for that inspiration.

“London 2012 inspired a massive amount of people. These anniversary games continue to be a beacon of hope. For all those who are looking for a focus in life. It is a beautiful thing to see.”

Sinnott, who is now based in the New Forest with his wife and children, joined the Army in 2006.

When he stepped on the IED, he initially wasn’t aware he was the main casualty.

“I was used to blasts going up all around me,” he said. “So initially I didn’t realise it was me. I instantly checked if everyone else was alright.

“It dawned on me quickly that I was not ok.”

He said that after he lost his legs he wanted to “find something very positive to do” and decided his future was in sport. He tried sailing for a few years, but then settled on athletics.

While his body was “too broken” to be a sprinter, he then “remembered being not bad at long jump when I was younger”.

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Sinnott added: “I realise psychologically you’d think, ‘Why would you want to throw yourself in to the sand seeing as you were blown up in the sand?’ But it works for me.” He is now trying his hand at sprinting on the world-class stage.

In the past few years, he has competed in Prince Harry’s Invictus Games and last year made his World Para Athletics Championship debut at the former Olympic Stadium in Stratford, in the T42 long jump. He missed out on a medal by just 10cm. He will return to the stadium this July for the Müller Anniversary Games.

“It is an amazing place. There is something about it,” he said. “It has a special aura. You go there expecting to do really well there as an athlete.

“There is something about the place that gees you up and makes you perform better.”

The Müller Anniversary Games is a fantastic family day out and will feature the world’s biggest athletics stars in action at the London Stadium on 21-22 July. Tickets are available via www.britishathletics.org.uk

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