SPRINTER Maria Lyle is counting down to the World Para Athletics Championships as she attempts to defend her titles.
The athlete was one of more than 40 named in the Team GB squad for the prestigious competition, which takes place in France from July 8 to 17.
The World Championships – the first to be held since 2019 – take place just over a year before the 2024 Paralympic Games in the same city.
Lyle was delighted to be in the squad and said: “At the last edition of the championships, I was lucky enough to have won both the 100m and 200m.
“It was a lovely memory.
“The year before that, I had a bit of a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
“I remember going into those championships and that year was about getting back to enjoying sport and life.
“To have gone to the championships, the aim was to enjoy myself and to win the medals I did was the icing on the cake.”
Maria Lyle took double gold at the last World Para Athletics Championships. Picture: Luc Percival/World Para Athletics
Last time out, Lyle took gold in the T35 100m by less than a second from Italy’s Oxana Corso and was celebrating doing the double when she defeated Poland’s Jagoda Kibil and Corso in the 200m event.
However, the Dunbar athlete spent much of last year on the sidelines due to injury.
An issue with the big toe on her right foot ahead of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 eventually led to her undergoing surgery.
She is now on the comeback trail and felt that her season had been going well.
Looking ahead to the championships in Paris, she said: “For me, it is going to be one of my toughest championships.
“I am going into it and had a whole year of injury last year and, as it is coming up to the Paralympics, we have got some new athletes on the scene.
“I would love to win a medal but it will be a bit of an ask to defend my titles.
“Firstly, I an going to enjoy myself and put a performance out that I am proud of, but, if I can get a medal out of that, I will be very happy.”
Super excited to be selected alongside an incredible @BritAthletics team for the World @ParaAthletics Champs in Paris! Hopefully the experience will just be as enjoyable than my last worlds in Dubai 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/6r5bTZZDmF
— Maria Lyle PLY (@Lyle_Maria) June 2, 2023
The 23-year-old sprinter, who has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, spoke to Courier Sport from her training base in Loughborough on Tuesday evening.
She outlined what it meant to stand on the top step of the podium at a major event and stressed that it was a team effort.
The former Dunbar Grammar School pupil said: “I’ve only ever had it a couple of times and it is a bit surreal.
“You hear your name being called out and that you are world champion – it is something that does not happen often.
“It feels an honour.
“[There is] all the hard work you put into it and everybody’s time that goes into it. Most people only see the 14-odd seconds you run but there is so much of people’s time and effort that goes into running those 14 seconds as fast as you can.
“It is a nice moment to celebrate all the hard work you put in and celebrate that with the team.”
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