Early last year Chantelle Reid tugged on a pair of boxing gloves for the first time in six years and vowed to give one last shot to the sport she loved.
A former stand-out junior who won two European gold medals and one world bronze, Reid had been forced to stop boxing at the age of 18 after a crippling diagnosis of degenerative disc disease.
Six years of careful recuperation sparked a spectacular return which not only saw her sweep through the English National Championships but go beyond to grab an improbable qualifying place for the Paris Olympics at the first available opportunity.
“It’s crazy to think I managed to come back and qualify for the Paris Olympics within a year, but I made it happen,” Reid told the PA news agency.
“I came back gradually and targeted the nationals and from there it all went so fast, I got letter after letter first from England and then GB, and then I got the chance to go to the first qualifier and I did it with six weeks of preparation.”
The 26-year-old from Derby had made boxing her life from an early age, rising swiftly through the junior ranks and inflicting a notable defeat on Turkey’s Busenaz Surmeneli, who would go on to claim 66kg gold in Tokyo.
But having gone through the majority of her youth career in near constant pain, Reid was strongly advised to take an extended break or face consequences potentially much more serious than the end of her boxing career in later life.
“I was in so much pain I was struggling to sleep at night, and I went to see a couple of specialists who told me if I didn’t stop it could have consequences further down the line,” added Reid.
“I didn’t want to end up in a wheelchair by the age of 30, but I knew it could get worse, so I made the decision to stop and at that point I didn’t think I would be able to box again.
“I went through a kind of grieving process. I’d started kickboxing at the age of five and boxing and going to school was all I did. I lost a massive part of my life.”
Her enthusiasm reignited by staying around her gym and easing back to boxing fitness, Reid decided to give her sport one last shot last year – and after clinching her qualifying slot, three straight wins sealed her improbable place in Paris.
“Going what I’ve been through doesn’t change anything,” she added. “It doesn’t take off any pressure or give me nothing to lose. I did this to prove something to myself, and the journey isn’t over yet.”