The self-confessed Swiftie hoping for Love Story on Winter Paralympic ice
The 43-year-old from Stranraer will be competing for ParalympicsGB in the wheelchair curling mixed team at the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Hugh Nibloe can usually be found in one of two places: fighting for Paralympic titles on the ice or singing his heart out to Taylor Swift.
The 43-year-old from Stranraer will be competing for ParalympicsGB in the wheelchair curling mixed team at the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
However, he is also a self-confessed Swiftie.
“I think I’m newer Taylor than old Taylor,” Nibloe said. “There’s one of the songs in the new album, Opalite, which I think she made for dad dancers. I’m not a dancer at all, but if I was to dance it would look like dad dancing.
“She’s got a team anthem for me. There’s a whole lot of songs you could sing and look crazy when you’re in the car.
“A couple of the others complain when I put her on. I guess I am probably too old, maybe I don’t really fit the Taylor Swift fan club picture. I’ll try to switch them on to more Taylor Swift, but it’s a losing battle.”
When it comes to wheelchair curling advice, Nibloe’s teammates would be well-placed to take notes.
He is an experienced member of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair curling team, having made his debut at PyeongChang 2018.
“I’ve had to reflect and look back at my first games back in 2018,” he added. “I played with three of the Paralympic medallists from 2014, so it was easy for me.
“I’m the elder statesman now, so I’m looking forward to helping out how I can and hopefully they all know that if they have any questions, I’m happy to answer.”
Sport has always been in Nibloe’s blood: in rugby, represented Stranraer Academy and Wigtownshire RFC as a youngster, before joining the Merchant Navy.
After being diagnosed with MS, he was no longer able to play rugby. However, this was just the start of Nibloe’s impressive sporting career.
The Stranraer resident began wheelchair curling in October 2012 and he has been on a rapid rise ever since.
After being selected for the Paralympic Inspiration Programme at Sochi 2014, Nibloe made his Paralympic debut in South Korea. This was followed by silver medal success for Scotland at the 2019 World Championships.
At Beijing 2022, he was the skip of the ParalympicsGB team. Yet, these Games were not as successful as Nibloe would have liked.
“That was one of the inspirations behind me trying to get to another Games,” he said. “Beijing was a bit of a let-down, both from the performance side of things and from it being a Covid Games. So, I’m really looking forward to these Games.
“Especially with the time zone, it’s as close to a home Games as we get, so family and friends will be able to watch without setting their alarms for three in the morning.”
The Paralympics is unique as the GB squad will be made up of both Scottish and English athletes, who compete against each other most of the time. and Nibloe believes this will only enhance their prospects.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I think we’re a stronger team as GB, than we are as Scotland or as England. We’ve worked together the last couple of years, and we can hopefully draw the best out of each other.
“In the World Championships last year, between Scotland and England, I think we managed to beat every country. We seem to have a habit of beating the teams from the Far East and England have a habit of beating the North American teams. Hopefully, together, we can beat them both.”
Discover Every Body Moves powered by Toyota, ParalympicsGB’s inclusive activity finder. Empowering disabled people to find ways to become more active locally or at home and inviting providers to promote more inclusive sessions across the UK. Find out more at everybodymoves.org.uk.
