Hannah Cockroft: “People are expecting big things”

Multiple wheelchair racing champion explains why there will be no let-up after a year packed with gold medal-winning and world record-breaking performances

Hannah Cockroft continues to impress. Ahead of what will be her fourth Paralympics in 2024, the seven-time Paralympic champion took her tally of world titles to 14 with gold medals in the T34 100m and 800m during the summer. She also set world records in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m, making her a worthy winner of the AW Female Para Athlete of the Year.

How do you reflect on the season?

You know what, it’s a funny one. The whole season, I was quite disappointed with what I was doing. I raced out in Dubai in February and I clocked a world record of 1:44.43 [over 800m]. Then I just compared every result back to that one. I did a 1:51.57 at the World Championships [to win gold] and I came off the track angry and shaking my head. My coach [Paul Moseley] then told me it was one of my quickest ever times.

So, I think it’s really taken me time to put this season into perspective and figure out how I feel. It’s been a long season to start in February and then end in September with the Great North Run. In conclusion, I’m pretty happy!

After 10 years with Jenny Banks you moved coaches to work with Paul Moseley. How is the change in coaching working out?

It was a really easy changeover. I’ve known Paul since my first ever wheelchair races and he’s always been there in the background guiding me and being a friend and mentor. To know that my interests were also his meant that we were going to work well together.

The training has been a lot different. Some weeks I’m wondering if I’ve done enough whereas other times I’ve been dead. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of working with someone new after Jenny for 10 years. With Jenny my winter was about long distance pushing and I didn’t really sprint at all. This time last year, Paul had me doing short hill sprints over the winter months. There’s a focus on recovery and there’s now a different balance, especially between the [T34] 100m and 800m. It’s different.

Hannah Cockroft (Mark Shearman)

How was the World Championships in Paris and seeing your face on the official branding?

It was weird to see a 20ft version of my head above the podium! It was really cool. It added a little bit of pressure that people were aware of you and what you can do. People never keep it secret that they’re expecting big things.

Pressure is a privilege. I used to see it as such a negative thing but it’s there because people believe you can do well, win and make an impact. If you look at it like that then pressure is support and that’s all you need to go fast.

What has given you the most satisfaction this year?

I’m so happy with winning the 100m [at the World Championships]. It’s becoming harder and harder to win and we’re seeing battles now between so many girls. We’ve seen Kare [Adenegan] beat me in the past and now we’ve got Fabienne [André] coming through. It’s what people want to watch and for the first time since London 2012 we got to fill all of the heats. To see that back is brilliant.

I made a lot of mistakes in the 800m in all honesty and I think the time could have been a lot quicker. I’d raced my first ever universal relay that morning and I didn’t even do a full run-through so my head wasn’t completely there for the 800m. So for the Paralympics I’ll need to sort that out.

Hannah Cockroft with Kare Adenegan (right) and Fabienne André (left) (Getty)

How are you feeling ahead of the Paralympics in Paris and how excited are you for a Games which will be so close to home?

I’m so excited about the Paralympics and there’s a big opportunity. There are loads of brands who are coming forward wanting to work with Paralympians and there seems to me that buzz we’ve lost in the last 11 years. Right now it’s only reaching the athletes because we’re filming the commercials now.

The tickets start at €15 so it’s not even that expensive. At London 2012, we were told that tickets wouldn’t sell out and the crowd wouldn’t be that big but then people watched the first day of the Olympics and were thinking they had to be at the Paralympics. I think Paris can have the same effect and you could get there and back in a day from the UK.

We’re now a decade on from London 2012 and I think the buzz has definitely gone [from para sport]. I go to schools now and kids weren’t even born then. We need to now inspire that next generation and get them watching para sport through the Paralympics. 

» This article first appeared in the December issue of AW magazine, which you can read here