Flying the flag for Team GB

Getting an athlete to the start line of a race at the Paralympic Games takes more than just one person. For an individual to reach the pinnacle of world sport, a largely unseen support team must be in place. There are the relatives and friends who spark an interest in the sport, the coach who hones their talent, the sponsors who pay the bills, the loved ones who provide a shoulder to cry on when it’s not going right, and the fans who cheer them on.

For the casual observer, it’s easy to overlook the years of dedication and hard graft that have gone into getting into the perfect physical condition to make victory possible. And when you’re an amputee who has had to get to grips with a new physical set up, it takes double the effort.

Owen Pick was three months into his first tour of Afghanistan with the First Battalion Royal Anglians, aged just 18, when he stood on an IED and lost a leg. Almost eight years after that fateful day, he lined up to compete in the Snowboard Cross and Banked Slalom events at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games. To celebrate, many of the people who helped get him there gathered in a central London pub.

"Owen never blows his own trumpet,” laughs his mum, Penny Pick, as the large crowd of supporters watch footage of her son holding the Union flag in his role as Team GB flag bearer at the opening ceremony. “He never even told me that he was getting good at snowboarding. He’s never been a show-off. It was only when he mentioned, three years ago, that he might be in line to make the Paralympic squad, that I realised he was talented. I was amazed!”

He has talent and real pride. He was so pleased to carry the flag, because it was the same one he fought for.

FROM ARMY TO AIRBORNE FORCE

Penny says that Owen was Army-obsessed from a young age. “He knew right away what he wanted to do,” she remembers. “He was just all about the Cadets. So when he joined the Army, he was very happy. And then we got that call. He said: ‘Mum, I’ve had an accident, the Army will be in touch with you, I’m OK.’ Then the line went dead. As a mum, it was terrible. My imagination ran wild. But I was mainly just glad he was alive.”

The immediate decision for Owen was what to do about his ankle: it was in such a bad condition that he faced two decidedly unappealing options. “So many bones in his ankle were affected that his doctor said they could try to mend it, but he’d be living with the pain for a long time, or they could amputate,” says Owen’s gran, Pam Good. “And so he decided – at the age of just 19 – to have the leg off. I thought he was incredibly brave. He just wanted to get it done and move on with his life."

“The Army was great with him, and then he started getting into sport, which helped his recovery. There was no time to mope, and as a family, we tried to keep him positive. His aunty said; ‘You can either sit and stare at the wall, or turn around and look at the world’. It’s to his credit that he just got on with things.”

Thanks to a supportive family, Owen was soon making progress. He discovered wakeboarding first and, thanks to Blesma, he encountered a snowboard for the first time. “Owen went on his first Blesma ski trip to Colorado in 2010,” recalls Colin Whitworth, a serving officer and Blesma Member who organises the Association’s participation in the annual Breckenridge Ski Spectacular in the USA. “I remember meeting him for the first time, it wasn’t long after he’d been injured. He clearly had the bug for snowboarding. He was a fantastic student and a great member of the team. And you could see from early on that he was talented. He learned things in a day that would take others weeks. With his wakeboarding and skateboarding background, he knew he could go places.”

Blesma, along with other sponsors such as QinetiQ, helped to fund his progress. “Owen’s always been part of the Blesma fold,” explains Operations Director Ian Waller. “So we always wanted to help him achieve his goals. We wanted the funding we gave him to link directly to his training and performance. So it was a case of; ‘If you keep getting better, we’ll do all we can to help achieve your dreams.’”

Mum, I’ve had an accident, the Army will be in touch with you, I’m OK.’ Then the line went dead. As a mum, it was terrible. My imagination ran wild. But I was mainly just glad he was alive.”

TALENT AND REAL PRIDE

Owen also received invaluable assistance from his manager and mentor Bert Appleton. “I’ve worked with a lot of athletes and was manager of British Triathlon at the Athens 2004 Olympics,” Bert explains, “so I’ve had some experience of the scale of the Olympics. That’s useful to pass on. “In Owen, I saw a driven performance athlete. He does this because he loves spending time on the snow. He has talent and real pride. He was so pleased to be chosen to carry the flag because it was the same flag he fought for. And he’s very humble. He doesn’t show off, and he doesn’t talk about disability unless he’s asked, in which case he’s very happy to. He’s a great guy.”

Owen’s childhood pals have also been vital in keeping him grounded. One of them, Grant Mallyon, can’t quite believe he’s watching someone he grew up with competing against the world’s elite. “We were in the Cadets together and Owen was always all about the Army,” says Grant. “He’s always been the same guy – before and after his injury. We can always tell what the other is thinking. Sometimes he used to get grumpy with his leg, but the way he’s turned a negative thing into a massive positive is just inspirational.

“His snowboarding is incredible. I was boarding before Owen, and I remember bumping into him at the Milton Keynes Snowdome when he was just getting started. I was better than he was then, but now he puts me to shame, he’s phenomenal. How he got so good is just amazing.”

It’s clear that all these people have played a major role in getting Owen to PyeongChang. And as the evening draws to a close – last orders at the bar in the UK, but early in the morning in South Korea – the crowd enjoys a live Skype link up with the man himself, just awake from under his Union Jack duvet cover in the Paralympic Village. He seems a bit lost for words when he sees the huge turnout of supporters in the pub.

“Thanks everyone! It’s been such a long and bumpy road,” he grins. “To get together with all you guys – family, friends and sponsors – to say thank you, means the world to me. I’m massively happy.” 

Owen came ninth in Banked Slalom and unfortunately failed to reach the quarter finals in Snowboard Cross.