Paralympian Swimmer Kate Grey, gave a talk at Bournemouth University on Monday about her experiences of coping with a disability.

The 25 year-old lost her left hand in a sausage machine when she was only two years old, whilst on holiday in Jersey. She said: “At two years old I was already adapting to having a disability. And adapting is probably what has played a key part in my development as a young person, an athlete and becoming a real person.”

Despite never fulfilling her ambitions of becoming a Paralympian medallist or a school teacher, Kate admits that she would not have changed anything about her journey of experiences. “I prefer to try and not make it, rather than not try at all. I’m one of the few athletes that have probably not quite achieved what they always wanted to, but have still made a career out of talking about what they have done. “ Whilst studying at the University of Bath Kate was always committed to training and becoming a Paralympian. “As I was going in for training at 5 o’clock in the morning, my house mates were coming back in from clubs. They were ordering Domino’s Tuesday’s pizzas where as I was having a pasta salad. There were so many distractions that could have drawn me in the wrong direction. But I was true to what I wanted to do.”

When Kate went to her first Paralympic heat she received a four second personal best and qualified to the final in a second. “I thought all those training commitments I made, all those decisions of not going out, eating the right foods was all coming together. I went from being an underdog to being a favourite.”

Although at the Beijing Olympics 2008 she was not mentally strong enough to win a medal and could not cope with the pressure, nerves and expectations that came with being a Paralympian. Kate admits that she did not properly rest or recover and so lost out winning a medal in the final by half a second. “It was becoming a whirlwind of emotions that I was not used to having. But it was never an expectation to win a medal. The expectation was to get an experience.”

A couple of months before London 2012 Kate as well missed out on qualifying because she had pushed her body to the limit from training 24-30 hours a week. “I became very obsessed and addicted to being the best to a point where I stopped listening to my body. My hair started falling out, my face kept blowing up and it turned out I had Glandular Fever. I had burnt myself out.”

Kate’s failings has however not stopped her from persevering and achieving. She now reports for BBC Sport News writing stories on minority sports like trampolining and Paralympic swimming. She also visits schools, tells her story to young people and speaks of the positive things she has achieved. She admits that as much as she helps and inspires children, they also inspire her and help her forget about not making it to London 2012. “It has been the best healing process for me because I have realised that I have achieved what I wanted to in different levels. I have realised that it is not all about the gold medals, it is about what memory you have with sport and how you can pass that on to the next generation. “ The Paralympian is still training and has potential sights for Rio Paralympics in 2016. “I don’t like to finish something without completing it and I don’t feel like I have completed my sport just yet” She will however make her final decision about whether she will pursue a full time career in the media or train full-time for Rio this summer. “Either way I would like to be swimming in Rio or working in Rio. Who knows where I will end up? Nothing fazes me now.”