Switching off is hard for Paralympian

Brad Scott has returned to Bunbury brimming with pride and bubbling with enthusiasm after winning two medals on the track at the London Paralympic Games.

He is supposed to be on holidays, but after competing in front of a packed stadium amid all the colour and glamour of the Games, Scott’s body has slowed down, but his mind is still racing.

‘‘It is kind of hard, I feel like I constantly need to do something,’’ Scott, 24, said.

‘‘I will be sitting around and then I’ll go for a run or I’ll go to the gym.

‘‘I have been doing two gym sessions a day just for the fact that I can’t stop.

‘‘I need to switch off my mind — once my mind is switched off I will be able to stop.’’

Competing at his second Paralympics, Scott won a bronze medal in the 800m and followed up with a silver in the 1500m.

He has already set his sights on competing at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and said while the prospect of training for another four years was daunting, he wanted to compete while he still could.

‘‘Athletics is an all or nothing thing, you can’t do it partially, you have to give it 100 per cent,’’ he said.

‘‘That is what I have decided I have got to do.’’

Hitting the track in Brazil would almost certainly mean writing an exciting third chapter in his battle with Irishrunner Michael McKillop, who finished ahead of him in both his London events.

McKillop holds the 800m and 1500m world records and Scott said their rivalry was built on camaraderie with a competitive streak.

‘‘We keep track of each other’s progress, we are good mates,’’ he said.

‘‘It is white line fever — once you cross that line you want to smash each other but after that, it’s a bit of fun.’’

After winning a silver medal in the 800m in Beijing in 2008 and his double success in London, Scott said topping his experiences could be hard. ‘‘I didn’t think it could get any better than Beijing but London was amazing,’’ he said.

‘‘The atmosphere was ridiculous. It wasn’t just the sound, it was the feeling.

‘‘Thetrack was vibrating when people were screaming.’’

Scott will soon return to his training base at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra where he will start preparing for the World Championships in France next year.

He is also hoping to concentrate on a university degree and set up a personal training business.