They say fortune favours for the brave, but for Sabrina Fortune she had to embrace the nerves, and it won her Paralympic gold. 

The Welsh shotputter entered the women's F20 final as the world champion and world record holder but felt under pressure to perform in front of a bumper crowd at Stade de France. 

And perform she did – extending her world record by 29 centimetres with her first throw to claim her first Paralympic title. 

“The crowd is magical, it’s like you’re walking into a world that is just crazy,” said Fortune, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

“The roar around you is deafening. 

“I was so scared after watching it on TV the last four or five days, I was so scared of going out there, but it was so amazing.  

“It’s something that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. And being able to do that clap at the end and getting everyone to join in, that was something that was amazing and I’m so happy I got the experience to do it.” 

The 27-year-old from Mold won bronze at her first Games at Rio 2016, becoming world champion for the first time three years later. 

It set her up for a tilt at gold in Tokyo, but a pre-Games fall derailed her chances as she carried an injury into the final in Japan and finished fifth. 

But in both a real and literal sense, she showed the importance in picking yourself up and dusting yourself off. 

Fortune has since regained her world title and continued to lower the world record before dominating the field with the four furthest throws in the French capital. 

She added: “Before Tokyo, I injured myself and I was scared because when you fall down, its much harder to get back up. 

“I was really worried after Tokyo and then I just accepted the fact that it doesn’t mean you will always stay down. 

“You will stand up and sometimes you stand up much better and I just hoped I would do so and after this year. 

“After world record, after world record, after world record and PBs, I was just going ‘you know what, anything can happen’ and I’m going with being positive over it and hoping that its going to be a good day.” 

Despite entering the competition in Paris with a wealth of accolades, Fortune did not feel that easily translated into confidence. 

However, no one inside Stade de France would have known as she let fly with her first throw. 

“There is so much pressure there,” she added. “There is always so so much pressure that’s always behind you.  

“Especially with any world record, any PBs. I wasn’t the Paralympic champion in Tokyo, so I knew there was pressure anyway there.  

“I also knew that I had a chance, and I knew that I couldn’t let the pressure build too much or I wouldn’t have done anything.” 

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