A dream has come true for a Pembrokeshire-born physiotherapist as she proudly takes her place as a member of Paralympics GB in Paris.
Sian Vaughan-Evans, who works for Sport Wales, is one of only three physios in the whole of the UK who have been selected as a member of Paralympics GB’s performance support team.
A former pupil of Greenhill School, Tenby, Sian, 43, grew up in New Hedges and is the younger daughter of Alwen and the late Graham Hughes.
The mum-of-three, who now lives in Cardiff, began her career in physiotherapy with NHS Wales.
Passion
A keen sportswoman herself, she developed a passion for disability sport some 16 years ago whilst working on amputee rehabilitation at Cardiff’s Rookwood Hospital.
“To work at the Paralympics then went on my bucket list,” she admitted.
Supporting athletes from a variety of sports on Olympic and Paralympic programmes laid the foundations of Sian's dream to actually work at the Paralympics.
She explained: “I volunteered for classification opportunities and as a games maker at the Olympics and Paralympics in London 2012 and gained as much experience as I could in disability sport along the way. I left the NHS eight and a half years ago to follow a career in sport.
"I was part of the Team Wales Physio team for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Gold Coast and really enjoyed the Games time experience.
“The last three Paralympic Games, I have wished the athletes luck as they leave for the Games, but this time I thought I'd chance applying to be part of it myself.
"Since joining Sport Wales I've worked very closely with the para table tennis athletes based in Wales and thought I'd regret it if I didn't even attempt to apply to continue the journey with them so put a last minute application in. I didn't expect to get an interview, let alone be offered the role!"
Excited
Sian will be one of three physiotherapists working with Paralympics GB in the Performance Centre within the athlete village in Paris.
"There has been a lot of team preparation over the last 15 months and I'm very excited to be part of the performance support team," added Sian, who is now in the Performance Centre ahead of the teams arriving."
She returns home on September 10, and in the meantime is very grateful to her own support network back in Wales.
"Having three children, it's always a challenge to strike a work/life balance and I'm very lucky to have such supportive family and friends to enable me to follow my dream," she said,
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