Watch: Mr England training in Nottingham to compete as Para-canoeist at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Video: Danielle Hall met Mr England aiming to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Mr England is training in Nottingham at Holme Pierrepont as he aims to compete as a Para-canoeist at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Jack Eyers, 28, moved up from Bournemouth to devote more of his time to Para-canoeing after being selected by British Canoeing.

In July 2017, he became the first amputee to be crowned Mr England and was the first disabled male model to walk in New York Fashion Week in 2015.

A personal trainer by day, Jack has tried a range of sports since losing his leg at 16 through elective surgery after being born with a birth defect, leaving him with an underdeveloped leg.

Jack said: “As part of my rehab after that, I started doing wheelchair basketball so I had a scholarship with GB at one point.

“That was my introduction to Para-sport and since then I’ve done athletics, I’ve tried wheelchair racing but I’m set on Para-canoeing now.

“It’s the outdoor element and being on the water in a powerful sprint complements what I already do in the gym.

“I’ve always wanted to get bigger and stronger because I feel happy doing that and that’s my style of training naturally and that’s what they encourage with this sport.”

coach,roger,weir,jack,eyers,water,holme,pierrepont
Coach Roger Weir speaking to Jack Eyers on the water at Holme Pierrepont

Jack said he is training more than ever now he has moved up the country.

He said: “I used to train about 11 times a week and now I’m training three times a day when I’m at Holme Pierrepont and one or two times a day on my days off.

“I’ve fallen in a couple of times and have even fallen out one of the most stable boats – I got so annoyed with the steering and managed to flip the whole thing over!

“Tokyo 2020 is my big vision but I’ve got to get through the April Regatta first and then European and World championships.

“It’s a long journey but I’m up for it.”

Jack’s coach Roger Weir thinks he is preparing well to go all the way to Tokyo in 2020.

He said: “His time management is really good – his dedication to moving up to Leicester to train in Nottingham is quite a big commitment to do that in the first year.

“It’s maximising his potential to go out there and get those international medals though and challenge for that gold in Tokyo.”

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