Paralympian Ryan back to winning ways as he prepares for Tokyo
He has come close to realising his dream of winning a Paralympic gold medal - now Ryan Cockbill has got off to a golden start as he looks to achieve that at the next games.
Ryan, a world champion shooter from Aldridge, has competed at the last two Paralympic games, both times finishing just outside the top eight in his category who then advance to the finals and stand a chance of taking home a medal.
He now has his sights set on Tokyo 2020 but in the meantime the 26 year old has to keep active in both training and competitions.
In late February, he competed in the Al Ain World Shooting Para Sport World Cup, taking home Gold in the R5 category for mixed 10 metre air rifle prone shooting and Silver in the R4 category for mixed 10 metre air rifle standing shooting.
The haul puts Ryan in good shape to improve on his Paralympic performances in three years time.
He said: "I don't put enormous pressure on myself, most shooters don't reach their peak until their mid 30s or early 40s, so I guess for my age I am doing well.
"It does hurt to have come close to advancing to the finals at two Paralympics but even getting to that stage is an achievement.
"At the moment I feel in the best form of my life and a lot of my attention is going towards Rio.
"All I can do is keep practicing and taking part in competitions, so to have got some medals out in Dubai is a good step in the right direction."
Ryan first got involved in disability sport after breaking his neck in a freak paddling pool accident in 2006.
In May 2007 he was introduced to a number of other sports at the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Unit Games, where he first tried target shooting.
Off the back of this introduction, he decided to take up shooting as a hobby, visiting his local range twice a week to train.
As he progressed, he entered local competitions and found he had a buzz for competition.
His first taste of international competition was the 2010 IPC Shooting World Cup in Sczcecin, Poland, where he returned home with four trophies.
Since then, he has been a full-time athlete.
His next trip will see him return to Poland to take part in the Szczecin World Shooting Para Sport Grand Prix at the end of April.
Ryan said: "I have been able to travel to a lot of places as part of my work, but it is still work and I don't really get to see that much of the countries I visit.
"There have been occasions where I have been able to spend some leisure time in a country but most of the time I just focus on the competition and my work."
