The chiselled 36-year-old is no stranger to the spotlight having launched a modelling career and been crowned Mr England since opting to have his right leg amputated aged just 16. Eyers was devastated to agonisingly miss out on selection for Tokyo 2020 but his sporting career has since been on an upward trend. He travels to France as a two-time world and reigning European champion in the VL3 event and with further ambitions of catching the eye.
“Being world champion tops Mr England but Paralympic champion – that’s a dream come true,” Eyers told the PA news agency having on Monday been named in ParalympicsGB’s nine-strong canoeing squad for Paris. “It gives me nerves just thinking about it but I’m very excited. “I enjoy being in the limelight as an athlete because that is very pure success – it’s not based on someone’s opinion, it’s based on how hard I’ve worked and how much I’ve committed and how much I’ve sacrificed.
“I’ve dreams of being at the top of the podium, absolutely. I’ve got full capability of doing that.” Eyers, from Bournemouth, was born with a condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency, which affected his hip, knee and femur.
He was advised to wait until he was 18 and had stopped growing to undergo surgery but convinced doctors to amputate his leg above the knee two years early. Since the operation, Eyers has been “ripped apart by werewolves” and “blown up” in horror films after joining a film-set agency spec.
