Issy Bailey

Issy Bailey
Born (1994-04-19) 19 April 1994 (age 30)[1]
NationalityBritish
EducationRendcomb College and University of Exeter
Known forPistol shooting for the UK

Issy Bailey (born 19 April 1994) is a British paralympic sports shooter. She competed in Rio at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and she competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.

Life

Bailey was born in 1994,[2] and was brought up in Somerford Keynes, near Cirencester.[3] She attended nearby Rendcomb College,[4] where she first tried shooting.[3] As her first sport was hockey, when she played lacrosse for her school she would usually move the ball on the ground rather than in the air.[4] In 2013, when she was nineteen and attending the University of Exeter, she was seriously injured in a car accident.[4] Bailey was taken to hospital and placed in a five-day coma while doctors treated her damaged spine, broken back, liver, and ribs. She lost the use of her legs and the full use of her left hand.[3]

While she was recovering at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, she was offered several sports,[4] but had so many injuries to her body that shooting seemed to be the best option.[5][4] She took to the sport and joined the GB squad in 2014.[2] Her education at the University of Exeter continued a year later than planned and she graduated with a degree in English. She later took up wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball[3] and earned a masters degree in "Global Literatures and Cultures" at Exeter in 2021.[6]

Bailey did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio but was given a wildcard,[3] so she attended the event along with her friend and fellow pistol shooter Stewart Nangle. She did not win a medal but instead finished in 14th place in the Women's 10 metre air pistol SH1. Stewart Nangle retired in 2018 leaving Bailey as the only pistol shooter on the British team.[4]

When the teams were announced for the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Bailey was included after her ninth-place finish in Sydney at the 2019 World Championships.[2] The other British women shooters bound for Tokyo are Olympians Kirsty Hegarty (women’s Olympic trap) and Seonaid McIntosh and Paralympians Lorraine Lambert[7] and Lesley Stewart,[8] but Bailey will be the only British pistol shooter.[1] She competed in the 10m air pistol SH1 and mixed 25m pistol SH1.[2] She narrowly missed out on making the finals despite a personalbest performance.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "ParalympicsGB squad for Tokyo 2020". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Issy Bailey". Paralympics.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "OLYMPICS: Former Rendcomb College pupil Issy Bailey looking forward to facing the best in the world in Rio". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Former Lacrosse Player, Issy Bailey, Makes Team GB Paralympic Squad". England Lacrosse. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  5. ^ "INTERVIEW: Paralympian Issy Bailey". Spinal Injuries Association. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  6. ^ "University of Exeter: University of Exeter Paralympians aiming for glory in Tokyo". India Education | Latest Education News | Global Educational News | Recent Educational News. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  7. ^ "'Full steam ahead': Team GB confident Olympics will go ahead – and with fans". the Guardian. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Lesley Stewart added to ParalympicsGB shooting team for Tokyo 2020". Paralympics.org.uk. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Former Lacrosse Player, Issy Bailey, Scores International PB at the Paralympic Games". England Lacrosse. Retrieved 30 September 2021.