Issy Bailey (born 19 April 1994) is a British paralympic

sports shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...

. She competed in Rio at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

and she competed at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

in Tokyo.

Life

Bailey was born in 1994, and was brought up in

Somerford Keynes Somerford Keynes (, ) is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, close to the River Thames and about 5 miles (8 km) from its source. It lies on the boundary with Wiltshire, midway between Cirencester, Swindon and Malmesbury. The ...

, near Cirencester. She attended nearby

Rendcomb College Rendcomb College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18), located in the village of Rendcomb five miles north of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England. Rendcomb College was founded in 1920 ...

, where she first tried shooting. As her first sport was hockey, when she played lacrosse for her school she would usually move the ball on the ground rather than in the air. In 2013, when she was nineteen and attending the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

, she was seriously injured in a car accident. Bailey was taken to hospital and placed in a five-day coma while doctors treated her damaged spine, broken back, liver, and ribs. She lost the use of her legs and the full use of her left hand. While she was recovering at

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was establishe ...

, she was offered several sports, but had so many injuries to her body that shooting seemed to be the best option. She took to the sport and joined the GB squad in 2014. Her education at the University of Exeter continued a year later than planned and she graduated with a degree in English. She later took up

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US name ...

and

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

and earned a masters degree in "Global Literatures and Cultures" at Exeter in 2021. Bailey did not qualify for the

in Rio but was given a wildcard, so she attended the event along with her friend and fellow pistol shooter Stewart Nangle. She did not win a medal but instead finished in 14th place in the Women's 10 metre air pistol SH1. Stewart Nangle retired in 2018 leaving Bailey as the only pistol shooter on the British team. When the teams were announced for the postponed

in Tokyo, Bailey was included after her ninth-place finish in Sydney at the 2019 World Championships. The other British women shooters bound for Tokyo are Olympians Kirsty Hegarty (women’s Olympic trap) and

Seonaid McIntosh Seonaid McIntosh (born 15 March 1996) is a British sports shooter who became the World Champion at the 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships in the 50m Prone Rifle event. In 2019 she became Britain's most successful female rifle shooter of all t ...

and Paralympians

Lorraine Lambert Lorraine Lambert (born 29 September 1972) is a British Paralympic shooter who was fifth in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. Lambert was chosen for the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo in August 2021. Life Lambert was born in 1972 a ...

and

Lesley Stewart Lesley Ann Stewart (born 27 May 1963) is a Scottish academic whose research interests are in the development and application of evidence synthesis methods, particularly systematic reviews and individual participant data meta-analysis. She is h ...

, but Bailey will be the only British pistol shooter. She competed in the 10m air pistol SH1 and mixed 25m pistol SH1. She narrowly missed out on making the finals despite a personalbest performance.

Private life

Bailey's partner is fellow shooter

Matt Skelhon Matthew James Skelhon (born 30 October 1984) is a British shooting sports, sport shooter. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics he won the gold medal in the SH1 10 metre prone air rifle event. Life Skelhon lost the use of his legs following ...

. She has learned from his Paralympic experiences, and as they are both elite athletes they travel and compete together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Issy 1994 births Living people People from Cirencester British female sport shooters Shooters at the 2020 Summer Paralympics People educated at Rendcomb College Alumni of the University of Exeter Paralympic shooters for Great Britain Shooters at the 2016 Summer Paralympics 21st-century British women