31 August 2012 Last updated at 06:18 ET

Paralympic cyclist Mark Colbourne has explained how sport and his coaches gave him back his life, after securing Britain's first medal at the Games on Thursday.

Colbourne, 42, from Tredegar, south Wales, secured a silver in the C1-3 1km sprint on Thursday and he is aiming for another medal when he competes later in his favourite event, the C1 3km individual pursuit.

Colbourne was badly injured in the Gower, Swansea, in a paragliding accident in May 2009.

His medal came on his Paralympic Games debut, and the first people he thanked were the coaching staff from Disability Sport Wales (DSW) who helped him on the road to recovery.

When I'm on the bike I do feel able-bodied again, so it's a great feeling that I look forward to every day

He underwent five months of gruelling physiotherapy just to learn to walk again.

Colbourne was left with a broken back and lower leg paralysis after his paraglider fell to the ground from around 40ft (12m).

With a natural passion for sport, as part of his treatment and rehabilitation he went on to compete in the Welsh indoor adaptive rowing championships.

In September 2009 he set himself a target of competing in his first Para-cycling event and went on to win two gold medals at the Wales Grand Prix in Newport.

Visit link:
'Coaches gave me my life back'