Being Chosen as GB Flag Bearer Meant as much to me as my Paralympic Medals
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September 25, 2024
Some incredible things have happened to me this summer – and for once the highlights have mostly taken place off the court.
But I know the amazing experiences I can talk about here wouldn’t have happened were it not for all the hard training and results achieved on court to reach this point in my career. And I was lucky enough to get some extraordinary rewards in 2024.
For example, at Wimbledon this summer when Laura Robson asked me if I would be around on the final Sunday. I made sure I was at the All England Club on the appointed day – and it transpired that I was part of an all-female line up, including players such as Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal, who had been asked to greet Catherine, Princess of Wales.
This was one of her first engagements since the announcement regarding her cancer. I have been fortunate to meet the Princess previously at Wimbledon – and she was as upbeat and interested in wheelchair tennis as the first time I met her. Kate has always loved tennis and on this occasion she brought her daughter, Princess Charlotte along too. It appears that Charlotte is also becoming a big fan of the game – which is fantastic.
I was talking to Charlotte and asked her whether she might one day care to see what it’s like to play wheelchair tennis. In fact I got her to make a “pinky promise” to that effect – and the amusing moment was captured on camera.
After being at Buckingham Palace earlier in the summer to celebrate my British Empire Medal – meeting Prince William, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie that day – here was another moment that I’ll surely savour for the rest of my life.
source Lucy Shuker FaceBook page
Then we were straight into the build-up for the Paralympics in Paris – and another great honour was just around the corner. It hadn’t ever crossed my mind really, until Erik Koers – who is our head of wheelchair tennis performance pathway – called to ask me if I would be happy to have my name put forward to be considered as a flagbearer at the opening ceremony. Erik later confirmed that I had been shortlisted but even then I didn’t think I stood much chance.
Paralympics GB is a phenomenal team and so many athletes have achieved so much at the Paralympic Games. There are an abundance of multi-Games athletes, world champions and gold medallists.
We travelled out to Paris ahead of the Games to train as a team in Saint Germain. It was here that Penny Briscoe – Paralympics GB Chef de Mission – surprised me at the end of one of my training sessions to give me the news that I had been chosen to carry the flag! Even when Penny came on court, I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just having a bit of banter with her before I realised they were filming and that Penny was wearing a microphone.
It was a huge surprise. I’m not ashamed to say there were tears – though I tried to fight them back. There are not many British athletes that have been given this honour in the history of the Paralympic Games. I just couldn’t believe I’d joined them. To say it was a massive honour is an understatement – not least because my fellow athletes in the Paralympics GB team had voted for me.
It was also amazing to share the experience with Terry Bywater, who was selected as the male flagbearer. Terry was making this his seventh Paralympic Games. (I think Sarah Storey had reached her ninth!)
I’d like to think that when someone is selected to carry the flag, people take into account not just your sporting achievements but how you conduct yourself off the court too.
Again, it’s worth emphasising this reality: if you don’t train hard and get good results, then you don’t go to the Paralympics and you can’t get into a position to be considered in the first place. I think for me this moment was really important because it is perhaps one of the first times in my career that I took a step back and really felt proud of all my achievements, so I am hugely grateful to Erik and Paralympics GB for affording me this moment.
The whole flag-bearing experience was amazing. We had photographs taken at the Arc de Triomphe – and the procession went down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde for the ceremony itself.
“Photo courtesy of ParalympicsGB”
I couldn’t help thinking how far I’d come from the young Lucy who just took up tennis for fun to help cope with the life-changing injuries I sustained in my accident all those years ago.
It was extra-special to spot my partner Amy in the crowd, because she’d had quite a stressful time changing flights and making sure she could be at the opening ceremony, which she hadn’t originally planned to attend.
On court when the action started I also had a couple of exciting experiences. Partnering for the first time with Abbie Breakwell, we got to play on Suzanne Lenglen court at Roland Garros. It housed a large crowd and that made for a great experience for everyone.
My first singles match was against a French player – and so again I was scheduled on a larger court. This time it was the sunken Court 14. It made for quite an atmosphere because there wasn’t a spare seat anywhere. Of course the crowd were predominantly cheering for my opponent, Charlotte Fairbank. Charlotte is a good friend on tour and has dual nationality – French and British. So this was extra hostile for me as even the Brits in the crowd appeared to be cheering for Charlotte. Every mistake I made was greeted with a cheer, along with every winner from her.
I was 0-3 down in the opening set – but fought back to win 6-4, 7-5. I was proud of the resilience I showed as it wasn’t an easy atmosphere to cope with, and in some other matches there were upsets, with French players being helped out by the crowds. Winning matches at Paralympic Games is tough and I am proud that I have at least won a match at every Games I have played at. Of course it was disappointing not to have pushed towards winning medals in Paris – that is the competitor in me.
Yet if I’m honest, being flag bearer at Paris 2024 meant as much to me as winning my Paralympic medals at previous Games. Of course, it meant everything to win those medals with Jordanne Whiley in years gone by – and become recognised together as one of the very best doubles pairings in the world. But the additional recognition of my qualities as a person puts the honour of being chosen as flag bearer on the same level.
“Photo courtesy of ParalympicsGB”
There was one last prestigious day to savour in this unforgettable Summer of ’24. Following the Paralympics in Paris, a number of Olympic and Paralympic athletes were invited to 10 Downing Street to celebrate Great Britain’s achievements with the Prime Minister. I was lucky enough to be one of them – and couldn’t resist a photograph by the iconic front door.
Sir Keir Starmer made a good speech. He had been at the Opening Ceremony in Paris. He praised the performances of all athletes – and I had a long conversation with Lisa Nandy. The government appeared very engaged in sport, fitness and the health of the nation. I hope that means good things for those with a disability and our sporting community too – and I think it will. Paralympics GB have recently launched an equal play initiative, calling for the UK government to ensure equal access to school sport and PE for all disabled children.
Well that’s it from me for now, I think it is safe to say there will never be a summer quite like 2024!
Love,
Lucy.