“It was incredible,” says Mari Durward-Akhurst reflecting on winning a bronze medal in the grade I freestyle at her first-ever Paralympic Games in September. “To finally be able to say I’m a Paralympian,” she adds, pausing for a second, “well, it’s been a lifelong dream and I think it’s starting to sink in. I want to go and do it again now!”
It may have been the first Games in which Britain didn’t win team gold – finishing sixth – but for those in Paris, it didn’t feel like a disappointment.
Watching Natasha Baker’s comeback, Sophie Wells’ inexperienced LJT Egebjerggardds Samoa grow in confidence with each test and Georgia Wilson’s charming Sakura battle against the imperious Diamond Dunes in front of sell-out crowds, it was impossible not to be proud.
But there was a unique sense of shared pride in seeing Mari win that bronze medal. She’d come into the Games with a sense of expectation building behind her – she was world number one and was riding the experienced all-star Athene Lindebjerg who had formerly won triple gold at the Rio Paralympics under the now-retired Sophie Christiansen.
“It was a lot of pressure,” Mari said at the time. “The morning of the individual test was a nightmare, I was getting myself in a bit of a state.
“I tried to block out the crowds and everything else, I was just trying to concentrate on the test and what I needed to do to keep Athene with me.”
The pair delivered a flowing test but errors in movements with double coefficients brought them to sixth on 71.79%. “I was disappointed but we couldn’t have done any more,” Mari says.
The larger-than-normal British press pack who came to Versailles hungry for medals were also quite a tough crowd for Mari to face after her test, and they struggled to look past Athene’s successes eight years ago; which was a shame because a lot has changed since then.
Athene last competed at a championship in 2017 and she’s had two foals in the meantime. It’s also taken time and a lot of hard work in the gym for Mari – who has a rare degenerative neurological condition that affects all four of her limbs – to develop the strength to be able to ride her.
“That extra work has made a huge difference,” she explains. “I know that when I was offered the ride on Athene a year ago if I hadn’t been doing it all I wouldn’t have been able to ride her because her walk is so big and I need a strong core to be able to stay on top of her.”
Knowing this was a performance years in the making made it hard to see Mari disheartened with it. Adding to that sense of disappointment was a late adjustment to her score, which resulted in it coming down to become the lowest of the British quartet, meaning she missed out on a spot in the three-person team competition.
“It took me a bit of time to come around,” Mari admits. “I went out to support the team when they were competing and I was able to fit in a schooling session with Athene around that, which kind of gave me the motivation to come back out on freestyle day.
“My coach Rob Waine then said to me, ‘You’ve got nothing to lose now so just go in and ride it and we’ll see what happens.’ And really you want to be able to ride in that arena as much as you can!”
Riding to dramatic music from The Pirates of the Caribbean and Pearl Harbour, Mari and Athene made up three places, scoring 77.75% to win the bronze medal. It was an emotional comeback, not only for Mari but also for the entire team in Paris.
“I didn’t even realise it was raining while I was doing it,” Mari says. “I was just in the zone, listening to our music and thinking about the next movement. I’m so glad we got to do it, and now, actually having the medal, feels so so good because it means I can share my story.”
To learn more about Mari Durward-Akhurst read our exclusive interview in full in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from 21 November.
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You may also be interested in:
Wow! Mari Durward-Akhurst and peerless Athene Linebjerg win grade I freestyle bronze against the odds at Paris 2024
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