POOLE Harbour Canoe Club’s very own Jack Eyres will be making his debut at the Paralympic Games in Paris this week.

Mr Eyres, who is an above the knee amputee, is a two-time world champion in para canoe and the first amputee to be crowned Mr England.

He will make his debut this Friday, September 6, at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Mr Eyres is a member of the Poole Harbour Canoe Club, who have wished him “every success at the games” as he races for victory, adding they are very proud of him and his achievements.

In an interview with the BBC, he spoke about how the lead up to a competition as big as this is harder than the race itself.

He said: “When you’re sat on that start line and you’re just about to race 200m – I’ve done that a thousand times, that’s the bit I’m good at.

“The bit I have to work quite hard on is the lead up to that moment – where you have these intrusive thoughts or feelings of anxiety or nerves – and dealing with that only comes with experience.

“The more you can talk to yourself in a way that reminds you that you’re good at this and you’ve been selected for a reason, you’re going to be OK – just enjoy the moment.”

His debut at the Paralympic Games follows three years of major success on the international stage, with Mr Eyres becoming a two-time world champion in 2022 after a huge couple of years racing the men’s VL3 – an event for athletes who have full function of their arms and trunk, and partial function in the legs.

He claimed his first world title in Copenhagen in 2021, producing what would come to be a trademark strong second half of the race to pip British teammate Stu Wood on the line.

Eyers would repeat the trick in 2022 for a second world title in Canada while that year he also claimed a first European crown.

He narrowly relinquished his world title in 2023 but still demonstrated his status as one of the globe’s best by taking silver in Duisburg, a performance which also secured Britain’s boat quota spot for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

He raced internationally for the first time in 2018, winning world and European bronze medals. He first began his sporting career in wheelchair basketball and also competed in wheelchair racing, athletics, rowing and swimming before finding his home in canoeing.