A Year On From Succeeding Peter Eriksson As GB&NI Paralympic Head Coach, Paula Dunn Spoke To Alex Ferguson About The Role
BACK in 2012 Dunn was sidekick to Peter Eriksson as the Canadian guided the British team to its most successful medal tally at the Paralympic Games in London – eleven gold, seven silver and eleven bronze. Fast forward two months to November 2012 and the 1986 Commonwealth Games 100m runner-up had the unenviable task of continuing the undoubted legacy left by the heroics of those Games.
Coming into the role was surprisingly tough, mainly due to the extra responsibility that is associated with being head coach. Dunn says: “I was really fortunate that I knew the athletes, the coaches and the set-up.” However, there are the not so obvious things such as the liaison with UK Sport, Sport England and the management meetings – things that Eriksson did so well. Dunn is confident of her abilities though and adds: “I think now that I’m leading the team, I don’t want it to fail, so that in itself is a completely different position to be in.”
Dunn’s baptism of fire came at the IPC World Championships in Lyon and many people may have raised an eyebrow at the selection of eight new debutants on the team, but the self-assured head coach passed her first test with flying colours. Six of the new faces came home with medals and Dunn describes the trip to the central France as her biggest achievement since coming to the helm.
She explained: “I think there was always going to be that expectation after London, so to do so well in Lyon after such a great 2012 was a big highlight of mine. This year was always going to be challenging, but I was really happy that the athletes and coaches picked up again and posted a strong tally of 29 medals (eleven gold, nine silver and nine bronze).”
Looking ahead to the next few years, the 49-year-old Dunn will have her eyes on next year’s IPC European Championships in Swansea and the 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha before the cycle comes to an exciting climax in Rio in 2016 with the Paralympic Games. With some high targets set for Brazil in three years’ time, the Mancunian is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
She says: “It’s the start of a new cycle. We understand that 2012 has finished and we’re now planning ahead to 2016 making sure we identify and support the right athletes and coaches going forward. I think that’s a challenge, making sure we do a good job of getting the right athletes and the target of 13 gold medals is a very high one. We need to find more athletes and those at the right level.”
One of the inevitable questions that Dunn faced upon swapping the assistant coach role for the top position centred on her sex and race, but a year on, she still reflects on the position in the same manner. She adds: “I went for the job and I didn’t really think about being black or being a female. I applied for the job because I felt I could do it. Looking back I suppose it was a breakthrough and if I can be a role model for other women and black females out there, then that’s really positive. It’s not something I think about on a day-to-day basis. My focus is on succeeding because, if I don’t, it doesn’t matter if I’m black or a female.”
One of the first appointments made by Dunn was Jenni Banks, who had coached Britain’s most successful Paralympian ever, 11-time gold medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. She believes that more opportunities are being made by British Athletics to get more women involved in the elite end of the sport.
“I think we’re doing really well in terms of getting more female coaches involved at the elite end. We’ve got the Female Legacy Programme and I attended the Women’s Coaching Conference and I believe that anything that supports and identifies women has got to be a positive for the sport,” said Dunn, who came into the Paralympic set-up in 2009.
Although it’s now 18 years since her last major competitive outing, Dunn remains one of the fastest sprinters this country has produced and is still ranked fifth on the UK all-time lists over 100m (11.15) and the 200m (22.69). While she doesn’t “actually remember running as it feels such a long time ago”, she can “identify and understand the feeling of what it’s like going into a race and whether it goes wrong or right.”
Dunn remains a charismatic, bubbly and approachable figure despite her steep rise up the ladder over the last 12 months. She adds: “I’m here to support the athletes. No athletes go on the world stage to fail, but sometimes it happens. You’ve got to understand that everyone goes out to do their best, but my job as head coach is to not only support the athletes when they’ve done well, but also to be there when it hasn’t gone well. It’s important to make sure they still feel valued and believe that they have the potential to succeed.”
Described recently by her partner as the “silent assassin”, Dunn explains that this character reference came about “because I know what I want.” She continues: “I don’t think I’m bolshy or feel the need to stamp my feet, but I do all I can to make sure I achieve the end goal. I know what I want, I know what I need to get and where I need to be, so my job is to get the right people in the right place doing the right thing. I may only be 5ft 2in, but I think everyone respects me.”
Silent assassin aside, how would Dunn like to be perceived first and foremost by her family, and secondly by her athletes on the team? She replies: “My family would describe me as happy but also very competitive and I hope any athlete on the team would say I’m fair, supportive and tough when I need to be.”
Coming into the role was surprisingly tough, mainly due to the extra responsibility that is associated with being head coach. Dunn says: “I was really fortunate that I knew the athletes, the coaches and the set-up.” However, there are the not so obvious things such as the liaison with UK Sport, Sport England and the management meetings – things that Eriksson did so well. Dunn is confident of her abilities though and adds: “I think now that I’m leading the team, I don’t want it to fail, so that in itself is a completely different position to be in.”
Dunn’s baptism of fire came at the IPC World Championships in Lyon and many people may have raised an eyebrow at the selection of eight new debutants on the team, but the self-assured head coach passed her first test with flying colours. Six of the new faces came home with medals and Dunn describes the trip to the central France as her biggest achievement since coming to the helm.
She explained: “I think there was always going to be that expectation after London, so to do so well in Lyon after such a great 2012 was a big highlight of mine. This year was always going to be challenging, but I was really happy that the athletes and coaches picked up again and posted a strong tally of 29 medals (eleven gold, nine silver and nine bronze).”
Looking ahead to the next few years, the 49-year-old Dunn will have her eyes on next year’s IPC European Championships in Swansea and the 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha before the cycle comes to an exciting climax in Rio in 2016 with the Paralympic Games. With some high targets set for Brazil in three years’ time, the Mancunian is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
She says: “It’s the start of a new cycle. We understand that 2012 has finished and we’re now planning ahead to 2016 making sure we identify and support the right athletes and coaches going forward. I think that’s a challenge, making sure we do a good job of getting the right athletes and the target of 13 gold medals is a very high one. We need to find more athletes and those at the right level.”
One of the inevitable questions that Dunn faced upon swapping the assistant coach role for the top position centred on her sex and race, but a year on, she still reflects on the position in the same manner. She adds: “I went for the job and I didn’t really think about being black or being a female. I applied for the job because I felt I could do it. Looking back I suppose it was a breakthrough and if I can be a role model for other women and black females out there, then that’s really positive. It’s not something I think about on a day-to-day basis. My focus is on succeeding because, if I don’t, it doesn’t matter if I’m black or a female.”
One of the first appointments made by Dunn was Jenni Banks, who had coached Britain’s most successful Paralympian ever, 11-time gold medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. She believes that more opportunities are being made by British Athletics to get more women involved in the elite end of the sport.
“I think we’re doing really well in terms of getting more female coaches involved at the elite end. We’ve got the Female Legacy Programme and I attended the Women’s Coaching Conference and I believe that anything that supports and identifies women has got to be a positive for the sport,” said Dunn, who came into the Paralympic set-up in 2009.
Although it’s now 18 years since her last major competitive outing, Dunn remains one of the fastest sprinters this country has produced and is still ranked fifth on the UK all-time lists over 100m (11.15) and the 200m (22.69). While she doesn’t “actually remember running as it feels such a long time ago”, she can “identify and understand the feeling of what it’s like going into a race and whether it goes wrong or right.”
Dunn remains a charismatic, bubbly and approachable figure despite her steep rise up the ladder over the last 12 months. She adds: “I’m here to support the athletes. No athletes go on the world stage to fail, but sometimes it happens. You’ve got to understand that everyone goes out to do their best, but my job as head coach is to not only support the athletes when they’ve done well, but also to be there when it hasn’t gone well. It’s important to make sure they still feel valued and believe that they have the potential to succeed.”
Described recently by her partner as the “silent assassin”, Dunn explains that this character reference came about “because I know what I want.” She continues: “I don’t think I’m bolshy or feel the need to stamp my feet, but I do all I can to make sure I achieve the end goal. I know what I want, I know what I need to get and where I need to be, so my job is to get the right people in the right place doing the right thing. I may only be 5ft 2in, but I think everyone respects me.”
Silent assassin aside, how would Dunn like to be perceived first and foremost by her family, and secondly by her athletes on the team? She replies: “My family would describe me as happy but also very competitive and I hope any athlete on the team would say I’m fair, supportive and tough when I need to be.”
(C) Athletics Weekly
This article originally appeared in Athletics Weekly. Our thanks to them for their permission to reproduce it.
This article originally appeared in Athletics Weekly. Our thanks to them for their permission to reproduce it.
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