By Milly McEvoy in Paris

Hannah Moore delivered an inspiring message having claimed triathlon bronze at Paris 2024.

The Stalbridge native was making her Paralympic debut after her event was not included at Tokyo 2020.

She also took two years away from the sport for mental health reasons prior to returning in 2023 and climbing back onto podiums ahead of the Paralympic Games.

“I can’t believe all those years ago I said I was going to try and do a triathlon and now I’m a Paralympic medallist,” said Moore, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with ParalympicsGB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.

“It’s really special to me. It’s been a really difficult journey to get here, a lot of highs and lows, and it’s been really difficult at times to get here, but I just can’t believe it’s happened.

“For anyone watching the triathlon, I just want to say don’t count yourself out and never stop believing in yourself because ultimately if you believe you can do something, you can achieve it.

“I always believed I could make it here and do well, and to actually have done that and executed that on the day makes me so proud.”

Moore had led right up until the run on the tricky Parisian course, safely navigating the strong currents of the Seine and the technical bike course.

The 27-year-old also dealt with the triathlon being postponed from Sunday to Monday well with her PTS4 also the last event of the day to see her and her rivals competing in the hottest temperatures.

Moore was overtaken by teammate Megan Richter who went on to become Paralympic champion, with Spain’s Marta Frances Gomez also moving past her for silver.

She added: “It’s been really hard. I’ve had a difficult lead up to the race with injury, so I’ve not really run 5km for a couple of months, so it was quite hard.

“The heat out here today obviously also has an effect with my prosthetic and how those fits.

“It was pretty tough to be honest with you, but I knew if I just focused on my plan I would stand a good chance. I just can’t believe it to be honest.

“I was hoping to qualify for Tokyo, but my medal event wasn’t a medal event then so unfortunately I never qualified.

“When it was announced that it would be a medal event here in Paris that was something that made me really excited about my future in the sport.

“It’s something I’ve been working on – seven years of hard work to get here - it’s crazy.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.