Per ardua ad astra... through adversity to the stars

Hi, my name is Phil Neil and I am a fire fighter with The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service in Belfast.

This is my first time taking part in the World Police and Fire Games; I’ll be competing in the Time Trial which is one of the 5 cycling events featuring at the Games.

Nine years ago I broke both my ankles after a fall from a first floor window ledge – I never thought I’d walk again, let alone cycle! I had surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and ended up with a titanium plate and 8 screws in my legs. The Consultant there was pretty frank about my condition, in his own words he told me, “Mr Neil you will never run again……….not even across the hospital car park!”. To say I was utterly shattered by this is truly an understatement.

The Olympics and Paralympics in Athens were on TV when I was confined to my bed in hospital and that helped motivate me to get better and prove the medical profession wrong! With aggressive determination, drive and fighting spirit I got back to my training and here I am today getting in form for the Games in Belfast!

So far, everything has been going really well - I'm now in week 37 of a year-long training programme which has been put together by a fellow fire fighter, Brendy McConville. I met Brendy at Fire Training School over 13 years ago; he’s probably the best coach to have as he’s a Commonwealth Games Athlete and also competing in this year’s Games.

We get together for our training sessions in several gyms, as well as at some outside venues (which is sometimes interesting in our Northern Irish climate!). Having said that, we are really lucky to have some great outdoor locations to train; we regularly head to Groomsport Beach and Ward Park, Bangor for some plyometric and sprint sessions.

It’s been a tough route to get to this point, but I believe anything is possible and I never, ever give up! Living my life by the motto ‘Per ardua ad astra’ (Through adversity to the stars) keeps me focused and driven!