The Eastbourne-born athlete, a three-time British champion, has had an inspiring journey from college student to Paralympian. Finley discovered his passion for athletics after being talent-spotted at a Para Sports Day held by England Athletics in 2012.
“I was never super competitive at sport and did not imagine myself doing it,” said Finley. “I always loved participating in after school clubs such as football, hockey and rugby alongside able bodied peers and never thought much else of it. After participating in a throwing event I was asked to try out and train in Javelin, so I was put in contact with Eastbourne Rovers athletics and started from there. This is when the idea of competing at a Paralympic Games started.”
While studying his A-Levels, Biology, Maths and PE, at Sussex Downs (now East Sussex College) in 2016, he was selected to join the British Triathlon Paralympic Talent Squad. Competing in the PTS4 category, Finley impressed early on, placing third in the British Triathlon Championships during his studies.
Speaking to the College about his transition to Triathlon, Finley said, “Again similar to starting out in athletics it was almost completely by accident the transition to Triathlon. I was competing at a national level in athletics but was looking to move onto the next step and applied for the Talent ID programme after the Rio 2016 games.
“Sadly, I was never picked up by British Athletics but was asked to try out for British Triathlon instead and a couple of other sports. I couldn’t swim very well and had never been on a bike before… based on testing and my running, British Triathlon felt I had potential to compete at a future Games. I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity so I decided to make the switch and learnt to swim and cycle from scratch.”
Finley added, “Everyone at College, both friends and staff, were fully supportive of my dream and helped push me to achieve it.”
Finley had to relearn swimming and overcome initial fears of cycling, but his determination paid off. By his debut season in 2017, he secured a bronze medal at the British Championships and followed it up with a silver the next year.
Finley's time studying PE at ESC inspired him to continue his studies at Loughborough. “I didn’t initially plan on going into sport at university but I enjoyed studying PE A-Level at ESC so much as I found it supplemented my knowledge in training that I decided to study sport science at Loughborough,” said Finley. “I was able to develop confidence in my own individual learning outside of lessons with guidance from learning resources which helped to set me up for studying at university whilst training full time as an athlete.”
In 2021, Finley made his mark on the international stage, competing at the Europeans in Valencia and finishing fifth. He celebrated his first major win in Alhandra just a month later and earned a top-10 finish at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Most recently, Finley’s hard work and consistency saw him secure seven podium finishes in nine events leading up to the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where he represented Great Britain with pride.
“To represent Great Britain is one of the biggest achievements you can achieve in sport and I couldn’t have been prouder of my hard work to get there,” said Finley. “The amount of support on race day was insane and I may never get a chance to compete in front of a crowd like that again. The Paralympics is the showcase of disability sport on the biggest stage and to be even a small part of that is a great honour.”
On advice he’d give to aspiring athletes, Finley said, “The advice I’d give to other students is to take as many opportunities as you can with both hands. I would never be in the position I am today if I never tried anything new or never went out of my comfort zone. So whatever you may think you want to go to university to study, it’s never a closed door to other opportunities.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have trained in Eastbourne because there have been two Paratriathletes based here before me so there were multiple coaches who could give me valuable experience and insight into elite sport and guide me on my journey.”
Finley added, “I wouldn’t have been able to compete in Paris without the hard work and dedication of those behind the scenes at my local sports clubs and schools.”
East Sussex College is incredibly proud to have played a role in Finley’s journey and looks forward to supporting the next generation of students as they pursue their dreams, whether on the sports field, in the classroom, or beyond.
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