Ambassadors

MARK CLOUGHERTY

Drum roll please…. Introducing Skiggle’s first official ambassador!

We are so thrilled to introduce you to our official – and very first - Skiggle ambassador, Mark Clougherty. As a British Army veteran who spent 12 and a half years in the Royal Military Police before being medically discharged in 2013, Mark is a true example of ‘life coming before disability’ – something Skiggle as a disability charity is hugely passionate about.

Mark was specially selected as one of only 65 athletes to represent Team UK at the Invictus Games in The Hague in spring 2022. The Invictus Games is an international sport event for the wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veteran, and Mark competed across an amazing six disciplines – 100m, 200m, 400, 1,500m wheelchair athletics and the hand bike time trial and criterium.

Mark lives each day in constant pain from a number of conditions including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Rhabdomyolysis, which affects his legs and hips, as well as suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a tour of Iraq.

However, he doesn’t let his injuries hold him back and is determined to reach the top of his game in the disability sports arena. Despite only using a hand bike for the first time in late 2020, he has set himself a tough challenge of travelling 595km across Ireland in the Summer of 2023. He’ll be attempting to set a World Record for the fastest journey - from Mizen Head to Malin Head - Ireland’s equivalent of Land’s End to John O’Groats no less – in less than four days. We hope you’ll join us in cheering him on and we’re certainly going to be very proud to see Skiggle’s branding on his training jerseys!

Skiggle supports a wide range of people affected by all forms of disability, whether its Armed Forces veterans like Mark, to people with more profound disabilities and children and adults with complex special needs. Remember – life always comes before disability.

A journey to The Invictus Games

Mark shared snippets of his rigorous training schedule ahead of the 2022 Invictus Games.

He shared an insight into training both inside his home and out on the track through pictures, videos and top tips! A more in depth insight can be found on his Instagram page

The training routine is gruelling and often leaves Mark looking rather green around the gills, but after needing to take 11 months off "there is no feeling quite like being back out on the track!"

Skiggle will be supporting Mark as he embraces every wheel rotation, weight lift and pull up over the next 6 months. We hope you will join us in sharing in his journey with him too!

Plyometrics

Mark completes an explosive Plyometrics session every Saturday as part of his training for The Invictus Games. 

8fit.com defines Plyometrics training (plyos for short) as: "Plyometrics is a form of intense training that involves the use of a stretch and contraction sequence of muscle fibers to generate great strength at a high speed."

With the support of his coach, incorporating Plyos into his training schedule will improve Mark's speed and power, which are crucial to a rapid and explosive start as he takes off at the start line. 

View more

SUCCESS AT THE INVICTUS GAMES

The pre race routine of a Gold medal athlete

When Invictus Games Team UK captain, Rachel Williamson told millions of viewers on BBC One that Skiggle ambassador, Mark Clougherty, was definitely one to look out for on track, she wasn’t wrong. “He has this power in his arms that no one has in their legs and just flies round the laps”, said Rachel.

By the end of day two, Mark had already bagged himself three athletics gold medals and one bronze medal. So, just what pre-race routine does a triple gold medal winning Invictus Games athlete follow? Before heading out to the Games in The Hague, Mark told us what makes the difference for him, which we have shared in our blog!

Click here to watch Mark’s gold medal winning races from Day 2 of The Invictus Games and to see him being interviewed by Alex Jones and JJ Chalmers on BBC’s The One Show.

Well done from everyone at Skiggle, Mark! 😄

Get email updates

Your details
No thanks

By signing up you agree that we can process your information in accordance with our privacy policy.

© Skiggle 2020. All rights reserved. Registered charity in England & Wales (1185108), Scotland (SC050478)
close

Contact us

Send us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Your Details

We will treat your personal information with respect and process it in accordance with our privacy policy.

Top