A PARALYMPICS gold medallist's love for rugby first began whilst living in Denbighshire.

Ryan Cowling was part of the Great Britain wheelchair rugby team who secured gold medals for the first time in the sport in Tokyo.

In a sport dubbed 'Murderball', Team GB beat the United States team, which included wheelchair rugby superstar Chuck Aoki, to claim gold in the final.

In the sport, players use their wheelchairs as battering rams in a game which is often thoroughly entertaining.

45-year-old Cowling, the oldest member of the team, was one of the stars of the show in the final, keeping the talented Aoki at bay.

Now living in Matlock, Derbyshire, he spent around nine years of his younger life living in Denbighshire.

Born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, he moved to Ruthin when he was nine years old and lived there until he was 17.

Ryan, who plays his club wheelchair rugby for West Coast Crash, then joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers before moving to Cerrigydrudion.

He sustained a spinal injury in 1994 and became wheelchair-bound.

In 2010, he began playing wheelchair rugby for fun and by 2014 he was captain of the GB talent team.

Ryan was called up to represent Team GB for the first time on his 40th birthday and went on to play at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.

Re-calling his time spent growing up in Ruthin, where he attended Ysgol Brynhyfryd, he said: "My mother was from Bala and I am still in touch with many people up there. My brother still lives in Ruthin and I have such fond memories of living up there.

"I remember playing for Ruthin rugby youth and scoring on my first appearance for them."

Commenting on being a Paralympic champion, dad-of-two Ryan added: "It's an amazing feeling that's so hard to describe properly.

"It's an experience that will stay with me for life. It was very different to Rio in 2016 as there was no crowds but the rugby was intense and I really enjoyed it.

"I'm proud to have played a big part this time around - I played every minute of the semi-finals and the final. It's great when a coach shows such faith in you and I'm extremely pleased to have come away with a gold medal."

Just four years ago the British team faced an uncertain future after their funding was cut, only to be partially restored in the build-up to this event.

But they exceeded all expectations to claim the gold against some very stern competition.