Amputee power lifter from Musselburgh joins Gold Coast Scots

The paralympian weightlifter, Micky Yule, broke his femur twice in 2017, but will today put winning a medal ahead of his body saying the risk is a sacrifice he is willing to make.

He said: “Competing for Team Scotland means everything; you feel that family vibe when you’re with Team  Scotland. There’ll be nothing better than trying to win a medal for Scotland.

“I’ve had a lot of setbacks recently, and that fires me up. When I was in hospital and could not train, I just wanted to get out and get back to the fitness and strength I was at before. I’ve got plenty of targets left to achieve in the sport and I want to get them in the next couple of years.”

In 2010 Yule lost both his legs from the knee down when he stepped on an improvised explosive device, while serving with the Royal Engineers in Afghanistan.

Since then, the Musselburgh-born dad-of-two has competed at the Rio Paralympics and tasted success at European and world level, winning gold at the 2016 Invictus Games.

He took part in a military trial, undergoing pioneering surgery aimed at improving amputees’ lives and had a titanium rod hammered into his bone to allow him to connect his prosthetic leg – his left femur had to be broken to fit the rod. With a lengthy rehab behind him, disaster struck when his leg collapsed under him on Christmas Eve and he was left nursing another break.

However, after narrowly missing out on a medal at Glasgow 2014 with a fourth placed finish Micky did not give up.

Yule said there are plenty of similarities in how he readies himself for competition and his previous life in the military.

He said: “If you are preparing for a competition it’s very similar to preparing to go to Afghanistan. It’s getting yourself prepared; it’s making sure everything is in place and trusting the team round you and having faith in your support structure.

“And then going there and hoping everything turns out well. Anything can happen on the day in sport, but if you’ve done everything you can to make sure it works then you can definitely relate that to the military.”

And medals have already been flying in for Team Scotland with lawn bowls and gymnastics taking the total to 25 on day five.

Cyclist Callum Skinner from Edinburgh took bronze in men’s 1000m time trial and Edinburgh-born John Archibald scored silver in the men’s 4000m individual pursuit.

Eyes will be on Team Scotland’s cycling squad today who will look to build on their ten-medal track success on the road in the men’s and women’s individual time trial. Medal hopes are also pinned on the women’s 1500m heats which will see Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan step up to the starting blocks.

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