World Championship medallist and ParalympicsGB athlete, Cpl Shona Brownlee, started her career in the RAF as a musician, drawn to the Service for the variety of opportunities offered.
However, when complications from an ankle injury resulted in a life changing operation, Shona took an opportunity during her rehabilitation that would change her life forever once again.
This would be the start of her incredible sporting journey through a new love for adaptive skiing, leading her to unexpected triumphs and outstanding success as an RAF Elite Athlete in the Alps and beyond.
“I joined the RAF in 2012 specifically to be a musician having been attracted by the variety of opportunities available in the Services.
Prior to joining the RAF I had no sporting background, I was solely focused on my music! However, I ended up getting involved in sport almost entirely by accident following an unfortunate injury during basic training. What initially seemed like a straightforward ankle sprain failed to heal as expected and led to complications which resulted in a below-knee amputation in 2018.
During my rehabilitation, I was given the opportunity to attend an adaptive skiing expedition in Bavaria. At the time, I thought it would be a welcome change from slogging away in the rehab gym and a chance to try something a bit different. I never expected for it to go any further than that.
Fast forward a few years and my biggest achievements so far have been winning two medals at the World Championships and being selected to represent ParalympicsGB at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing 2022, a personal highlight for me!
For someone who never did any sport and only taking up skiing in the recent years as a bit of a distraction, it all still seems a bit surreal.
I have only attended the Alpine Challenge once as it usually clashes with key races on the international circuit. However, in my early skiing days, I attended and found the atmosphere to be incredibly supportive, despite finding the mountains somewhat intimidating. I hope to return to the Challenge again in the future and ski the slopes with a little more competency – upright this time and not headfirst!
I would definitely encourage everybody to try something new and get involved in sport. We are fortunate to have many amazing opportunities in the RAF – grasp any chance you can as you never know where it might lead.
I am so grateful for the financial assistance that the Central Fund provide year on year. Skiing is an expensive sport, and it seems like there’s an almost constant stream of kit needed! The Fund’s Individual Sports Grant really does help to offset some of these costs.
I’ve had such tremendous support from the Central Fund that I play the Sports Lottery as my way of contributing and giving something back, helping others to benefit from similar support and access the amazing sporting opportunities that I have experienced.”
If you’d like to support sport in the RAF, join the Sports Lottery today or increase your tickets at: https://www.rafcf.org.uk/sports-lottery/
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