“Some would say Taekwondo is 80% individual, 20% team. I try and flip it and say the 20% is the only time where I am an individual, on that mat during that fight”.
Beth Munro has had a rapid ascent in the world of para-Taekwondo. In just her second international competition, she found herself fighting at the pinnacle of disability sport, the Paralympics.
In Tokyo in 2021, the relatively inexperienced Scouser brought a remarkable silver medal home. Now, with the countdown to Paris 2024 on, she’s looking to go one better.
That rise would surely not have been possible without a strong support team. Munro, who was born with an arm impairment was scouted by Disability Sport Wales, and has since trained frequently in Cardiff.
“Anytime off the mat, I am not an individual,” Munro tells MerseySportLive. “I have a coach, I have a team, I have training partners, I have support staff.
“So I try and flip it to make it more of a team sport, because I just love the environment, the spurring on, the encouragement.
“I think our team is a very good representation of it”.
Inspiring the next generation
A brief scroll through Munro’s social media indicates a dedication to community and giving back in the region she grew up.
She is an athlete ambassador for Path to Paris, Team GB’s youth engagement programme. “We aim to win but we also aim to inspire,” reads one of her Instagram posts.
As well as fostering excitement and ambition in local children, Munro says it is also important to improve disability awareness.
She takes pride “just exposing them to disability at a young age. Because if you’ve never seen it, you just don’t know when you get to teenage years, or you get a bit older, and you’ve probably never seen anyone with a disability.
Munro on inspiring and educating the next generation.
“You think outside the box, and you adapt in life. And so, [it’s] being that role model and showing them that anything’s possible.
It’s not all about the next generation of young stars, either. Munro, now 30, rose to stardom in her sport later in life than many other athletes, and values being a role model for all ages.
“I remember I went to a specific talk and an older lady came up to me and she was like, ‘I’m probably going to take up a sport now, because that has just inspired me’.
“It’s amazing. I never thought I’d be at this height but I’m definitely loving it”.
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Mentality
The importance of mental strength, as well as physical prowess, in sport has been highlighted more and more often over recent years.
For Munro, who has a master’s degree in health psychology, already knows how valuable the mental side of sport is, especially at an elite level.
“The pressure, it’s such a high level, I can see it every day,” she says, the intensity of her voice reinforcing her conviction of the statement.
“You know, we train for four years of our life for this one pinnacle day, in the hope that is goes our way. It’s crazy when you put it into perspective”.
Still, it is difficult to frame everything neatly and rationally with a gold medal match approaching.
“But on that day, you need to be 100% mentally ready. You could be so good at Taekwondo, have all the technical and tactical ability. But if you go out and your mentality lets you down, that could potentially lose you a fight”.
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Elite sport and everyday life
“I’m fortunate enough to say that we have a psych[ologist] here at [Team] GB who is absolutely amazing, who helps support our team.
“It’s a massive factor in everyday life, everyone’s job. It’s such an important team that everyone needs to speak about, and everyone needs to get an education on.
“Honestly, I could talk about it all day – but especially in elite sport, it’s so important”.
That mentality has taken Munro from starting a new sport in her mid-twenties, to Paralympic silver, and recently European and World Taekwondo gold.
Next on the checklist is Paralympic gold, and her and her team seem well placed to go all the way.
Featured image via agreed Alamy license.
