"I remember everything about that day. I knew straight away that I'd broken my back." In 2018, Callum Russell had just started earning a living from mountain bike racing. He had a new sponsor and was excited to race at Gisburn Forest. But on a practice run he misjudged a jump and crashed to the ground. He couldn't feel his legs and, airlifted to hospital, he was certain his life had changed forever.

When he came round from surgery, Russell learned he had severed his spine at T11 and was paralysed from the waist down. "The realisation dawns that you're going to have limited bladder control, bowel function, and you're going to have to learn to use a wheelchair full-time," he said. But within weeks he was back outside.

Rowing gave him a new sense of freedom and he progressed to Great Britain's Para-rowing squad, winning bronze on his international debut at a World Cup in 2022. He switched to handcycling in 2023 and became the first British male handcyclist to win a World Championship medal, with time trial bronze in Belgium.

Now UK Sport-funded, Russell, 30, from Stockport, supplements his income with modelling jobs and returns to the World Championships this weekend in Alabama as a medal hope.