Triathlete Dave Ellis is one of the favourites for Paralympic gold at Paris 2024, but he is focussed on getting a certificate. 

The Derby native had gone into Tokyo as a banker for gold, but no one had accounted for a mechanical issue on the bike that saw him unable to finish the race. 

It meant that he and guide Luke Pollard were not even able to collect the certificate given to all finishers of a Paralympic event. 

“We had Europeans about two weeks after Tokyo which meant that we could either rest on our laurels and be concerned about what had happened or focus on that and we decided to focus on Europeans,” Ellis said. 

“So, it didn’t take us too long to move on. It is well behind us now; we’ve had lots of races then.  

“Paris is different, really. It’d be nice to finish the race, we didn’t even get the certificate last time.  

“I do always think, should we just have run round with the tandem, so we could finish the race, but we didn’t.” 

Ellis has been almost unbeatable since then, losing only once since that 2019, at the 2023 European Championships. 

That event had been changed to a duathlon, seeing the swim cut due to water quality issues and denying Ellis one of his strongest suits. 

The 38-year-old competed in the pool at Beijing 2008, finishing fifth before making the switch to Para triathlon ahead of Rio 2016. 

His visually impaired category was not included in the line-up for those Games meaning he had to wait until Tokyo for his return to the Paralympics and has had to wait even longer for a potential gold medal. 

It is a medal that many of his competitors are already putting around his neck given his dominance. 

Ellis competes against compatriot Oscar Kelly, who also trains with him, and has been overawed by his ability to push himself. 

The external expectations may be for another nailed-on win, but that is not how Ellis is approaching it. 

He added: “I don’t really ever think of it like that. I always just want to do the best race I can do.  

“You never know when you are going to finish your career do you?  

“Every performance could be your last one and you may as well put out your best performance in every race and I always train as if it could be my last season. 

“I’m not thinking about retiring yet, as long as I am competitive I would love to continue racing.  

“But a lot of the younger lot are getting better now and have got a lot more to develop where I am hanging on to my form and performances, really.” 

Ellis and Pollard compete on 2 September with their event beginning at 9:00 BST. 

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