Cheshire's Paralympic power couple to tie the knot after Paris Games
Paralympic power couple Hannah Cockroft and Nathan Maguire will tie the knot after Paris 2024 but revealed they aren't allowed to share digs at the Games.
‘Hurricane’ Cockroft and Maguire, who live in Elton, race in wheelchairs and are both targeting medals at the Games, which begin on 28 August.
The Cheshire-based duo are splitting time between training together and planning their upcoming wedding but they will be apart when the lights go out in the Paralympic Village this summer.
“We’re not allowed to be in the same accommodation, there are flats for men and flats for women,” said Cockroft, speaking as an Aldi ambassador around their Nearest and Dearest programme ahead of Paris.
“I honestly think it’s a bit outdated, I’ll be 32 by the time I go to the Games and most of my friends on the team are men.
“I want to be surrounded by people who know me well and that will aid my preparation and my performance. We ask to share every four years but we’ve kind of accepted it’s not going to happen now.
“We’ll still see a lot of each other - Nathan can’t survive a day without me!”
Aldi’s Nearest & Dearest programme helps maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance and make the most of the unique opportunity to compete on one of the world’s largest stages.
Cockroft’s nickname is well deserved. Racing in a high-tech carbon fibre chair, she holds five world records, seven Paralympic gold medals and 14 world titles.
Maguire has also enjoyed a successful career in para athletics and has a relay silver from the Tokyo Paralympics to his name.
“There’s so much knowledge that Nathan has in the sport that he passes on,” said Cockroft, who will benefit from the informative webinars and dedicated space in Paris to enjoy intimate moments with family and friends – whether celebrating or consoling – as part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme.
“It’s a partnership between Nathan, my coach and myself constantly coming up with new ideas, pushing me and challenging me.
“We compete with each other in training and challenges to try to beat each other. I don’t want him to catch me, I want to surprise him and be quicker.
“For me, it’s my experience that I can pass on. I’ve been there and done it all now but for him, it’s still massively overwhelming to be up against the best in the world and be a medal contender.
“For Nathan, it’s the mental side of it, having the psychological support and knowing he has the full potential to do anything he wants to do.”
Spending all of their time thinking about how to get faster, Cockroft revealed that it is rare that conversation at the dinner table ever strays away from sport.
“We live and breathe wheelchair racing, we don’t switch off from it,” she said. “The only other thing we talk about is planning the wedding and I’d rather not talk about that to be honest!
“We don’t switch off because it doesn’t feel like a job, it’s still a hobby and what we love to do. There’s no escaping it but we both love it. That’s the life of an athlete, that’s your describing word and that’s how people see you. Everything we do revolves around that.”
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024
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