Wheelchair fencer Gemma Collis-McCann has endured a long and agonising delay to confirm her place at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

With all competitions cancelled since March 2020, the Buckinghamshire ace had to wait for an email to know for certain that she would represent ParalympicsGB in the épée and sabre events this summer.

The 28-year-old had to wait to secure the news of her selection but says booking her seat on the plane caps an emotional fencing fairytale.

Gemma Collis-McCann​ will be in Tokyo this summer

TOKYO BOUND! 🔜🛫🇯🇵 . An accurate representation of how I feel about being selected to represent @paralympicsgb_official at my THIRD Games in Tokyo! 🗼 . Absolutely thrilled to have qualified to compete in the Women’s Category A Épée & Sabre! . After what has been an extremely difficult 18 months for so many, it’s not lost on me what an immense privilege it is to be able to continue doing the thing I love at the highest level. . Here’s hoping we can give the British public, and everyone around the world something to cheer for and get excited about this summer! . . #Proud #Grateful #Privileged #HardWorkPaysOff #SelfFundedAthlete #TeamEffort #ParaAthlete #WheelchairFencing #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #ImpossibleToIgnore #LoveJapan

Posted by Gemma Collis-McCann on Monday, 28 June 2021

Collis-McCann: “When I first started out, I never would have expected that I'd get this point and I'd be competing in a third Games.

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“It feels absolutely amazing.

“It's been quite a tough cycle for me for various different reasons, with health issues and changes in my life.

“I started working before I was training full-time, so it's been kind of a quite a tough cycle.

“But I'm just so proud to actually have qualified and to have qualified in two weapons for the first time.

“It's been such a long wait, because our last two qualifiers should have been in May 2020 and then they were supposed to be in this May and then they got cancelled again.

“It's been quite a stressful wait with lots of sleepless nights, so it's nice to be able to actually know that I'm going now and get my head down and just focus on the task at hand and trying to hopefully bring home a medal.”

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Having beaten the world No.1 to secure World Cup gold in 2018, Collis-McCann will be hoping to add to the 864 Olympic and Paralympic medals won by Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Collis-McCann, who works as a sports journalist away from the sport, explained how she found out she had been selected, adding: “I was working right when I got the email to find out that I was selected and I just screamed, and my mum came rushing and we almost bumped heads on the landing.

Gemma Collis-McCann is a Paralympic fencer

Posted by Gemma Collis-McCann on Tuesday, 7 April 2020

“I was trying to get to her, she was trying to get to me quickly because she was like ‘What on earth is that noise?’

“I just collapsed on the floor crying because it's been a really difficult year for me.

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"I've been based down in Buckinghamshire since September with my parents in order to continue to train, while my husband has been up north, and we've only seen each other three times since September.

“I think it was just that kind of outpouring of emotion and relief that the thing that you've worked very hard for you're actually going to.

"It was quite a moment.”

To support Gemma's career, visit uk.gofundme.com/f/GetGemmaToTokyo.