Felixstowe para-shooter Sean Young is back on the road to para-athletic stardom after selection to a sporting programme which helped propel Sir Steve Redgrave to legendary status.

53-year-old Young – who has arthritis of the joints – has competed for his country internationally in pistol-shooting but has had to contend with time on the sidelines after injuring his shoulder at the end of lockdown in 2021.

And after finally overcoming his injury nightmare, Young revealed five-time Olympic gold medallist Redgrave was a key inspirational figure as the Suffolk marksman aims to return to contention for a coveted Paralympic spot.  

Young said: “It’s just that he doesn’t give up. He’s had adversity throughout his career, he’s had sickness and even at an old age, he kept going and going and proved that if you want something bad enough, age is not a barrier.  

“He was racing against people so much younger than him, but he was such a power engine in that boat and proved that it doesn’t matter what you are, if you want something bad enough you can do it.

“I’ve had really bad injuries over the past 4-5 years and have missed out on stuff so I’m finally getting back and really looking forward to getting some serious training and getting out to compete again.  

“I got injured when lockdown finished with a shoulder injury, I don’t know how I’ve done it, and it’s took me years to get back to where I am now. It was a freak accident, and it took me all this time to get back and compete properly again.  

“I hope to do well. My scores are coming up again now and I’m really excited about what’s to come.”

Young is one of 50 athletes across a range of sports supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.

The grant has been indispensable to Young in supporting his progress, ensuring his ability to compete at the highest level without the stresses of financial hardship.

“Unless you’ve got loads of money, it’s so hard to do sport and without people like SportsAid helping people out it’d be impossible.  

“It’s so important that SportsAid keep people going because without them you wouldn’t get the Paralympic or Olympic athletes because sport’s so expensive.

“When I go away, you have to go to a hotel, and you have hotel costs and travel costs and without SportsAid I wouldn’t be able to afford to do it.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.