Next stop, Turin: Nathan Stephens heads for the Winter Paralympics

"I've always been interested in sport," Nathan says. "Before I lost my legs, I played rugby and football, and afterwards I used to be a goalkeeper. When I was in hospital after my accident, the sledge hockey coach, Kevin Whiteman, came to see me and encouraged me to get involved. I contacted him a year later and have been involved ever since. I've been playing since the age of 10."

The British weather isn't exactly conducive to winter sports, but that doesn't stop Nathan or any of his team-mates.

"We train every Sunday evening on Cardiff ice rink. The team come from all over the UK - four from Wales, and others from London, Manchester and Nottingham.

"We also cover a wide age range. I am the youngest at 17, and Phil Saunders is 56. He's the net minder and is considered by many to be the best in the world."

While skiing and other sports at the Winter Paralympics might be self-explanatory, you could be very much forgiven for not having a clue what sledge hockey actually is.

"It's a version of ice hockey. We sit on a sledge on the ice. Instead of one stick there are two, one in the left hand and one in the right. They have metal picks on the end so that we can move across the ice. The sledge itself is just a U-shaped metal frame with a seat and block on the end to fit the blades. The bucket seat is made for the player.

"There are six people on the ice at once, and there can be up to ten on the bench. The rules are similar to ice hockey. The most important thing is to get the ball into the net."

The UK sledge hockey team are currently ranked fifth in the world.

Nathan Stephens' family are incredibly supportive of his sporting success. His mother is the sledge hockey team manager, dad Barry is the equipment manager, and he met his girlfriend Alice through the team coach.

In terms of future achievements, Nathan has one clear goal: "I want to represent Great Britain in athletics, at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing".

This year is looking particularly promising for Team GB.

Wheelchair curling is being introduced for the first time, paving the way for world champions Scotland to go for gold. Also, we note that the British Paralympics Association website describes UK skiers Russell Docker and Sean Rose as being "in the form of their lives".

We wish them all the best of luck.