We are thrilled to present Kylie Grimes MBE, an extraordinary athlete and trailblazer, as our honorary speaker for this year’s graduation ceremony.
Kylie’s journey is one of relentless passion and resilience. A show jumper and aspiring Olympian, she has continued to push her limits and train with the University’s Strength and Conditioning team. Her story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
In 2009, just three years after a life-changing spinal injury, Kylie made a remarkable return to competitive sports. She undertook an awe-inspiring cycling challenge from Vietnam to Cambodia, raising funds for Regain – a charity dedicated to helping newly injured tetraplegics reintegrate into sports.
Kylie’s achievements reached new heights as the only female member of the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Team, contributing significantly to winning the nation’s first Gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. In recognition of her exceptional contributions to sport, she was honoured with an MBE in 2021.
Today, the University proudly awards Kylie Grimes an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy. This honorary celebrates her international sporting achievements, her extraordinary courage, and her generous spirit in supporting and inspiring future generations to pursue careers in sports.
Join us in celebrating Kylie’s incredible journey and the powerful message she brings. Her story is not just about sporting triumphs; it’s about overcoming adversity, breaking barriers, and inspiring others to dream big and strive for greatness.
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To be awarded an honory doctor of philosophy is something I never expected in my lifetime it’s very overwhelming to be honest and it fills me with immense gratitude and pride my journey has been one of many twists and turns as a child I had a dream to represent my country in
Sport and to one day win an Olympic medal after a diving accident that left me a tetrolic and it completely changed my life in a split second at the young age of 18 I truly thought that dream was going to be over but I’m not somebody that can take no for an
Answer however big or small and I decided there and then to accept my spinal injury and to treat it as a challenge fast forward a few years and after getting my f after getting my awarded to my first par Olympic Games at London 2012 in wheelchair rugby
The year after that I met Edward Baker Ed joined the GB team and helped us massively with our strength and conditioning when Ed moved to the Bristol area I knew I had to continue working with Ed Ed has helped me in many ways more than one not only in my sporting career
But also to think outside the box every day and adapt in my daily life with every situation I faced getting to use the gym for my training here at glester University with Ed has been a massive part of my final years of playing for Great Britain and eventually are winning
The incredible par Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020 thank you for all the support from the pupils the university and Ed without the great facilities and time I’ve spent down here I don’t believe I would have ended my career a par Olympic champion it really does take a huge team to
Achieve success as an athlete and for that I am truly grateful congratulations to everybody graduating today for all your hard work and continued successes in the [Applause] future