David Smith

Paralympic champ David Smith believes the GB team can wow the home crowd at the BISFed 2018 World Boccia Championships in Liverpool

HAVING claimed European, World and Paralympic titles already, what is there left to achieve in the sport for David Smith? Regaining his world crown at the BISFed 2018 World Boccia Championships, that’s what. The event will see more than 180 athletes from over 30 countries battle it out at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool from August 12-18. Here Smith discusses his, and the GB team’s, chances…

HOW ‘BIG’ ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS? “For us, this is the second biggest event we can compete in after the Paralympics. I’m the former world champion so that’s an extra motivation too. The ranking points from the event count towards Paralympics qualification so it’s a stepping stone in some respects – but a very big one! “I’m on a good run, so it would be fantastic to hold the European, World and Para crowns all at the same time.”

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR GB TEAM-MATES… “We’ve got Stephen Maguire, who is defending his world title, and Jamie McCowan who is the European champion. I’m going in as the European, Paralympic and former World champion, so the three of us are in a really strong place. “Then we’ve got Patrick Wilson and Scott McCowan, and Evie Edwards in the fours, who are not yet in the medal zone but are not far off and on their day can beat anybody.” “Having had a Paralympics, Claire Taggart knows what it’s all about. She recently won the British Champs for the first time, so that bodes well. “Will Hipwell is quite new but has been massively improving his performances this year. We’ve also got a brand new player, Ricky Stevenson in the BC1s, who has only just started. This is going to be his Worlds debut and there is a lot of potential there.”

WHAT ARE THE BRITS’ CHANCES? “Across the board we’ve got some really strong players and if they can turn it on at the same time we could do very well. “It’s a really close-knit group. We’ve come a long way in the last few years in the transition from being amateur-ish with a little bit of funding to being much more professional now. The support staff have moulded us into a professional unit. That means we can have honest conversations with each other, which helps increase the performance levels and competitiveness between us.”•