Lottie McGuinness

Paralympic Athlete and Health Care Assistant

In 2024 I made the ParalympicGB para powerlifting team, taking part in the games in Paris.

Why I chose to attend Leeds Trinity

I visited several universities but just knew in my heart that Leeds Trinity was the place for me. Everything I needed was on one site and the smaller class sizes really appealed to me.

My time at Leeds Trinity and the support I received

I joined the University in 2020 after attending the last face-to-face open day before the Covid restrictions. At this point, I had to make the choice of either pursuing swimming or powerlifting.

I am very grateful to the University for the additional support I received after being allocated a place on the University’s ‘Talented Athlete Support Package’. The support I received was incredible, it allowed me to make multiple trips to Loughborough and covered the cost of my accommodation when travelling.

Utilising what I learnt on the course

The course was extremely useful to me and it taught me a lot about myself. I could really resonate with the topics and apply them to my training. I learnt so much about rehab and recovery that still benefit me to this day.

Competing in the Paralympic games

In 2024 I made the ParalympicGB para powerlifting team, taking part in the games in Paris. I was extremely proud to have qualified, I had worked so hard and sacrificed a lot over the four years leading up to this. The team got a standing ovation from St Pancras on the way out as we left for our training camp before the games started.

As well as my family, my former art teacher and personal trainer came out to Paris to watch me compete. This was a real highlight for me that I had everyone in the crowd cheering me on as I walked out. My TikTok started going crazy when I was at the games and I gained more than 1 million views. It meant a lot to me that the sports development office created their own TikTok’s for me before and during the games.

Paris was everything and more than I could have imagined. The day after competing was a mixture of crying and laughing, but the experience left me so hungry for more.

What would mean success to me

I’m confident that I will become the Paralympic champion and the Commonwealth champion in powerlifting.

My career since graduating

I am very fortunate to have a supportive employer that allows me to balance my work and sport. It is nice that my current employer is where I undertook one of my placements for my course.

They give me all the time that I need to train and compete. During the time I was competing at the games, the doctors and other staff were all watching me on the screens at work.

My advice to others

More than anything, be your true self, go with your heart and follow your dreams, no matter how daunting they might be at first.

I am very much my own person and have learnt to be comfortable with myself and my decisions. I love competing so that is my focus, I will plan mentally how to get there at a given time.

My advice to any student athletes would be that you can balance sport and studying by being well organised and prioritising.