Wycombe star handed star role at opening ceremony (From Bucks Free Press)

Rose shines in Olympic Stadium

1:22pm Thursday 30th August 2012 in Local Sport By Alan Feldberg

WYCOMBE judo star Ian Rose might not be competing at the Paralympics because of injury, but you can’t keep a good man down and this week the veteran of five Games played a starring role in the opening of the London 2012 Paralympics.

On Tuesday night he carried the flame through Tring and just 24 hours later was in the Olympic Stadium after being honoured with a pivotal part in the opening ceremony.

Rose, a winner of two Paralympic, five World Championship and nine European Championship medals, was one of six of Britain’s most decorated Paralympians’flown’ into the stadium to perform an aerial ballet sequence before double amputee Afghan war veteran Joe Townsend flew in on a zip wire to light the flame.

Rose said: “It was so nerve-wracking. Is it going to work, am I going to be able to get the first somersault in, is it going to go right?

“Thankfully it was alright on the night, but when I got of the harness my legs were like jelly even though it had gone perfectly in front of 80,000 people in the stadium and however many people watching on television.”

Rose came out of retirement specifically to compete in London, but was ruled out when he ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament late last year.

He said: “I was pretty close to being on the team, but things happen for a reason and it was such an honour to be involved and thanks so much to everyone who came out to support me.

“They were a couple of unbelievable nights that I’m never going to forget, they will be with me for the rest of my life.”

Comments are closed on this article.