Afghanistan veteran Captain Nick Beighton will always bear the physical legacy of the roadside bomb that, in October 2009, cost him his legs and life as he knew it.

Captain Beighton was serving with the Royal Engineers in Helmand Province when an improvised device exploded as he returned to base from a reconnaissance foot patrol.

The mental scars are still healing but Captain Beighton has been helped by finding a new calling, a new challenge on which to focus his energy and determination.

This month the 29-year-old, from Shrewsbury, will compete at the Rowing World Cup regatta in Munich. It will be his first competitive race.

Having served his country on foreign battlefields, Captain Beighton’s aim now is to compete for Great Britain on home waters at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

“It is almost beyond belief, to come back from the depths of despair and thinking life is over to having an opportunity to represent Great Britain,” said Captain Beighton. “Your body is an amazing thing. It will heal itself from the most ravaged condition a body can be in.

Dreams

“Sometimes the biggest battle is healing your mind, getting over what has happened and rationalising who you are now from who you were and what you thought you were going to be in life.

“You have a very fixed idea of who you are and what you want to achieve in life — your dreams and aspirations, and suddenly that is all swept away.

“It takes a long time to come to terms with that, to realise the opportunities are still out there and all it takes is you wanting to achieve something.

“There are no boundaries to achieving something truly great in life if you want to, like competing in the Paralympics for Great Britain.”

Captain Beighton has never been short on determination nor shy of challenges. He used to enjoy mountaineering, skiing and cross-country running.

That drive has not been dimmed. Captain Beighton mastered his new legs in just a fortnight in order to join his comrades on parade less than five months after being injured.

“I will never regret anything I have done, least of all joining the army. It is one of the best things I have done in my life and it remains to be that even now after what has happened.”

It was during his rehabilitation at Headley Court that Captain Beighton was introduced to rowing and encouraged to attend a ParalympicsGB talent identification day. That led to him joining the GB Rowing team full-time a month ago.

“It is not the usual route into sport. I was flagged up as a potential rower because of how tall I was and my size. It was not something I had ever considered before,” he said. “I thought, ‘Give it a go’. Everything is focused on pushing on and it helps being from a forces background because you throw yourself at the challenge.”

Captain Beighton will compete in Munich in the adaptive mixed sculls with Sam Scowen, who finished fifth at the 2009 world championships. But he is a rookie on the water. He has never been involved in a competitive race and has no idea what to expect in Munich on May 27.

The world championships in September double up as a Paralympics qualification event. He will need to learn fast but Captain Beighton has already proven capable of that. “It is a year to get better, a year to learn how to row first of all. Munich is the first step on the road.”