Mel Nicholls revelled in having come full circle as she came fourth in her first international para-triathlon race at the Volvo 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea writes Milly McEvoy. 

The 45-year-old from Tewkesbury made her international debut in wheelchair racing at London 2012 and was back competing on home soil ten years later. 

Nicholls returned to the city where she won her first major international medals at the European Athletic Championships in 2014, and although she missed the podium this time around, there was plenty to celebrate. 

“I actually feel quite emotional,” Nicholls said. “To get selected for London in athletics that was such a whirlwind for me anyway, I'd been in the sport I think 15 months. 

“Then to come full circle, to do two Games cycles, go into cycling and sort of come away and still racing at a level but doing some my own things.  

“I never ever imagined that I'd come to another sport and certainly not going to a level like this at all. I love training, I love racing and I will always try to train the best and race the best I can be, but I never thought I’d be back here.  

“In Swansea in athletics was where I won my first international medals, my first medal for GB. 

“I raced around the coast of Britain for the world record on my handcycle last year and I came through Swansea a year ago today.  

“It brings back such great memories and I've got friends from my club here that are out on the course screaming at me, my handlers from my club as well.  

“A lot of local people, a lot of people that I know and friends, so it's been so nice. Wales is wonderful, last year when I cycled round, it was the friendliest nation and it's just been such a great welcome.” 

Nicholls admitted that due to being a ‘lone wolf’ she had thought triathlon wasn’t for her, but is living proof of the power of parasport, something the Swansea event has aimed to show. 

The elite races were a part of a week-long festival of parasport, with a member of Nicholl’s Tewkesbury Triathlon Club attending the conference to help make the club more accessible. 

Nicholls was the second quickest athlete on the run as she crossed the line in a time of 01:12:44 as Paralympic silver medalist Lauren Parker of Australia claimed the victory ahead of Paralympic champion, USA’s Kendell Gretsch. 

She added: “There's all sorts of levels: there's people who want to go socially, people want to go because of fitness, there's people that are competing in age group, and we've got one of the GB juniors as well that trains with us. 

“And so just having that community that have different levels and is very open to inclusive sport. They don't have any disability coaches, but we've had a coach here yesterday on the conference learning more about it.  

“I'm now on the committee so I'm trying to bring in people and we have races on that we open to para-athletes, so I helped make the course accessible and stuff like that.  

“You don't have to be set up, but if you're open-minded to set it up or to find a way then that's all you need.” 

The Volvo 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea - Britain's first ever standalone World Triathlon Para Series event - headlined a week-long para sport festival in the Welsh city, which also included the first ever International Paratriathlon Conference. Interested in getting involved in paratriathlon? Visit the get involved page on britishtriathlon.org