UCL Institute of Archaeology

As the summer of sport comes to a close, Institute student Daniella Afeltra who has just completed work at the London 2012 Paralympics has been reminiscing about her role supporting the games.

"After my experiences at the Olympic Rowing at Eton Dorney on the Athlete Services Team, I was really excited to resume the same role at the Paralympics. Arriving on the first day of athlete training I knew that everything would be mostly the same except for the addition of the Equipment Store from which team members would collect and store the athlete's equipment such as wheelchairs and prosthetics while they were training or racing.

What I did not know or expect was that all the athletes and coaches at the Paralympic regatta would be so friendly and easy to talk to nor that I would spend a good deal of time in the Equipment store babysitting a guide dog called Briggs who belonged to US athlete Eleni Englert!

I also knew that the athletes I would meet would be amazingly inspirational. Each and everyone of them had overcome obstacles to reach the peak of physical fitness while remaining humble and hardworking. It was truly a privilege to help provide them with the services to make their regatta a memorable one.

I am honoured to have had the chance to work at these games, both Olympics and Paralympics. I was given the opportunity to work with some amazing people like Helene Raynsford who won gold at the Beijing Paralympic Rowing while nearly everyone on my team each had their own story and accomplishments. I can't thank London 2012 enough for this opportunity and to everyone I met along the way for enriching my experience".