A STRING of coincidences put Sonar keelboat crewman Stephen Thomas on the path to Paralympic glory.

It was a chance meeting in a supermarket car park that turned determined sportsman Thomas into a sailor.

He will be battling for gold with Skandia Team GBR teammates John Robertson and Hannah Stodel in September’s Paralympic Games.

Thomas, who lives in Easton , Portland but was born in Bridgend, Wales, lost the lower part of his legs to meningitis when he was 18.

A keen sportsman, he turned his hand to ice sledge hockey but when his team did not qualify for the winter games, he decided to look at summer sports.

By chance, a stranger in a Tesco’s car park asked Thomas to help him with his wheelchair.

Thomas, 35, said: “Two weeks later he approached me and said: ‘Do you want to go Sailing ?’ and he was the disability sport development officer in Cardiff.”

Coincidentally, Hannah Stodel’s mum had called the disability sport officer the week before asking if he knew anyone that could try out in a boat.

Thomas added: “That was it really.”

Although Thomas admits that when he first stepped into a boat it ‘didn’t instantly click,’ he enjoyed being out on the water and the team work.

Since then 10 years have passed by and the team is stronger than ever and ready to take on their greatest challenge.

Thomas said: “It feels like it’s flown by.”

He added: “There aren’t many teams that have been together for ten years so we are quite unique.

“We’re quite different personalities.

“We’re from different parts of the country and we managed to click at the right time.

“It’s been great.”

Thomas said the team joke was that they are like a ‘married threesome’ sometimes because they spent more time with each other then with their partners, families and friends, but Thomas said: “It’s just the way it’s got to be – to be committed to win it and go to the Games.”

Thomas said only gold would be good enough for the team, who are currently ranked number one in the International Association for Disabled Sailing world rankings. He said: “No-one goes to the Games to get bronze or come fourth.

“We have dedicated our lives to this and we want to strive to be the best we can be – that’s a gold medal.”

Thomas said a gold medal would be ‘really cool’ after the 10 years of hard work the team had put in.

“Sport is about being able to peak at the right time and hopefully we can do that.”

He encouraged other budding Paralympians to follow their dream.

He said: “It’s amazing to be able to increase the profile of disabled sport.

“Disability doesn’t matter when you’re sailing.”