Athletics swooped in to fill his sporting demand and Nicholls has gone from strength to strength as a seated thrower.
Para-thrower Taz Nicholls replaced an obsession with football to become one of Europe’s most fearsome discus athletes, but the beautiful game has never been far from his mind.
The 38-year-old Barnet athlete was an accomplished amateur football player before a severe leg injury in 2013 cut his career short. Athletics swooped in to fill his sporting demand and Nicholls has gone from strength to strength as a seated thrower.
He will wear red and white in Glasgow this summer and being selected by Team England for the Commonwealth Games and can’t wait to perform in front of friends and family.
He said: “I’m quite new to athletics. I wasn’t ready to finish competing after my injury and I was working one day at the college football academy in the gym, trying to make my leg work again.
“I was adamant I was going to prove everyone wrong and recover but an athletics coach came in and told me to stop being a so-and-so, and that football is over but there are many more things.
“He marched me over to a computer and three hours later, I had a meeting with a coach and a classification date, and it went from there.
“Luckily, we were still on a high from London 2012, so it was good for me. We emailed GB athletics, and they said, ‘You’re a big guy – you’re a thrower’, and that was it. I have had other interests on my journey, but stuck to athletics.”
Just five years after choosing athletics, Nicholls was selected by Great Britain for the European Championships in Berlin, where he finished fifth in the F44 discus competition.
He said: “It’s the highest honour you can have to represent your country. I was very nervous because normally it’s your little community at a competition and now all of a sudden I’ve got Germany and Estonia, and the Czech Republic alongside me.
“You’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is real. This is happening.’ It’s quite a nice little community usually. There aren’t too many seated throwers, so often at a competition it’s the same faces, so you get to know your competitors and you become a little community. It’s a good little group.”
One of those faces is that of Dan Greaves, the godfather of English para-throwing, who is still competing aged 43. Greaves first appeared on the international stage with a silver medal at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000, since adding five Olympic medals, three World titles, four European Championships, and a gold in Glasgow at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Nicholls said: “He’s a legend in the sport. You don’t go this long and compete at the highest level and not be an aspirational figure for people.
“I was lucky enough to go to the Europeans with him, and I just studied him. I learnt a lot and he’s always there to help and ask any questions if you need.”
But even after a decade in athletics, Nicholls still enjoys other sports, not least his old flame of football.
He said: “I think I’ll be laser-focused, but it’s hard because my F57 discus event is on the penultimate day. I’m interested in swimming, especially. I’m most excited to see the area. You always hear about the Rangers-Celtic rivalry, so it will be nice to see what that is like.”
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