Sporting giants Mo Farah and Bradley Wiggins may have become embroiled in some of the controversies that have brought calls for a ban on therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) in sport, but in relying on medication to let him compete at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, teenage badminton prospect Alex Dunn is drawing upon the example offered by another knight of the realm, Steve Redgrave.
The Motherwell youngster feared his sporting career was over when he was told, aged just 13, he had Type One diabetes, the variant of the condition that requires constant medical treatment rather than being controllable through dietary adjustments.
The diagnosis seemed particularly cruel because diabetes is commonly associated with lifestyle issues whereas he had always been extremely active.
“I don’t know how many sports I played when I was younger, so it was quite a big shock to the system at first,” he said.“When I first got diagnosed I took quite a hit and there was a point in time when I wondered if I could continue because it was quite a struggle. Everyone knew how sporty I was, though, so when I was diagnosed they were pointing out what Sir Steve Redgrave had achieved. I don’t see why I should be any different and let it hold me back at all.”
Even with the example of the five-time Olympic gold medallist to draw upon, however, it took time to address what was confronting him as he got used to dealing with the required medication.
“My badminton took a bit of a dip at that time because I had to adjust myself from a lifestyle point of view to getting it sorted,” he said. “Then I had to work out how it impacted on my sport, but so far, for the past three or four years, I would say I’ve got it down to a fine art. Occasionally there is the odd blip, which affects my badminton.”
A trip like the one he has just undertaken can cause further problems but mutual trust and understanding with his support team have generated confidence in his capacity to cope.
“Sometimes when I go away to different time zones and climates it can have an impact, but once I acclimatise I should be okay,” said Dunn.“I try to do what everyone else does, but the coaches are quite understanding and they know that if I’m not ready or take a few minutes to sort myself out then they are more than happy for me to do.”
He is partnered in mixed doubles by Eleanor O’Donnell and with Adam Hall in men’s doubles where they have an outside chance of a medal, ranked among the top eight in the line-up having raced up the world rankings into the top 50 since teaming up a year ago.
And having overcome what he has, Dunn was probably the perfect partner to become available to Hall when he faced his own career crisis.
Then based with the BadmintonGB set-up, Hall’s promising partnership with Englishman Peter Mills was broken up by UK Sport’s shock decision last year to withdraw its funding of the sport, forcing Mills to quit while Hall returned to Scotland. Dunn, 19, was playing singles and mixed doubles at the time, but was unlikely to be going to the Gold Coast until they were asked to play together and reached the final of the Polish Open in their first competition together, then this season picked up a hat-trick of international titles in Ireland, Turkey and Iceland, as well as becoming Scottish champions.
Since Hall is still only 21 their longer term potential is obvious, but Dunn knows that just by taking part in the Gold Coast over the next fortnight his story has the potential to help others.
“I would love to think I could inspire other young people because if they are tempted to give up when they get a diagnosis like I did then I can see where they’re coming from, so I would love to be able to help make a change in their lives,” he said.
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