Killarney Paralympian Jordan Lee speaks to Adam Moynihan about injuries, taking up shot put, and loving sport again

Hi Jordan. You have announced that you’re making the transition from high jump to shot put. What has led you to this decision?

I know it might come as a surprise to people – it’s a big switch up, going from high jump straight to shot put. There are different factors at play. The last two years have been extremely tough both on and off the track, and I think it’s important to be honest and transparent about that. Some of the injuries that I’ve suffered have been really, really hard. On the lead-up to Paris qualification in 2024 I ruptured ligaments in my take-off ankle. They came completely off the bone. I managed to recover and hit the qualification standard in my first competition, but then in my second competition I completely tore my patellar tendon. I didn’t realise at the time because I have tendonitis, so I kept jumping. When the pressure is on to keep performing, especially in the year that it was, I didn’t take much notice. We got it looked at, got professional advice, managed to get a cortisone shot, and there was a full recovery process. Things were looking exciting.

But then the week before Paris I tore it again. I had to give up my slot. Thankfully another athlete was able to take my spot, which was good. It wasn’t for nothing. But there was a lot of big-time injuries, all in one leg, happening pretty quickly. I could still be competitive in the sport to a degree but ultimately it’s not where I wanted to be. I’m probably past my best in the high jump, which is okay to say.

But I do know I have a lot of physical ability and, in a modest way, I do have a track record with basketball, high jump and long jump. So my goal over the next year is to develop as a shot putter and become one of the first officially recorded athletes in history to be ranked in the top 20 in three different sports.

Why shot put?

I investigated other options but I knew with me having the one arm, it’s naturally going to be quite strong. Then from playing basketball, there’s good coordination and good control anyway. And I had been pretty decent at it just messing around with the lads. I entered myself for a competition about three months prior to making this decision and I finished second in the Kerry Championships out of 16 big, strong lads. That was an indicator that it wasn’t just an airy-fairy decision. I don’t want to just do a sport for the fun of it. I want to try and really be good at it.

A lot of changes need to be made. I’m only 87kg at the moment. I’ve definitely got to get that up to 100kg, if not 105kg, which is going to be a mad change but it will benefit me. In high jump you’re so restricted with calory intake and food consumption. When I jumped my PB I was 77kg. I’m 6’2”. That’s very hard to maintain. So gaining a bit of size, and building on my strength, which I feel is my best attribute, will be a positive.

I’m also attempting to be the first athlete to be carded and government funded across two different sports. Logistically that was a bit of hassle initially because I have been government funded the past six years, which I’m very grateful for, but now it’s going to be gone. I’ve been a full-time athlete all this time, just dedicating everything to it, so my goal is to get back on to the carding scheme. I’m very much focussed on Europeans next year too. There are qualification standards that need to be hit for that but I feel very confident now that I’m gathering a team around me with structured training.

The past couple of months I’ve just been training based on my own knowledge of shot put while trying to have a bit of fun and trying to love sport again.

Had it reached a stage where high jump just wasn’t enjoyable anymore?

Yeah, I think so. I actually haven’t said it publicly but there’s a lot of thinking with high jump and it’s just you. There is a team around you but, I mean, you might clear the bar 30% of the time. That’s about it. So there are a lot of knocks. When you jump the bar, you either clear it or you don’t. It’s very cutthroat. It’s either positive or it’s negative. You can’t just have a decent performance. Sometimes I’d like to just have a decent performance.

And don’t get me wrong, I think my high jump career… Looking back on it, I would like to have achieved a lot more because I was very vocal about wanting to achieve a lot of big stuff. But I don’t regret saying those things either because you’ve got to be ambitious and try to over-achieve on your goals. To be fair, I also believed that I could achieve it. And I’ll continue to do so in the shot put.

We had a very good run the high jump. My coaching team of Tomás Griffin, Shane O’Rourke and Alan Delaney have been extremely helpful and I want to thank them for that.

How is the knee now?

My knee has recovered and it’s feeling really good right now. I want to keep it that way. The pounding on my tendons and joints is still going to be there to a degree with shot put but nowhere near the same the level.

How does your training routine for shot put compare to what you were doing previously?

The training is very different. It’s crazy. It’s extremely taxing but it’s easier mentally and physically. I’m just in the door, though; my opinion might change in two or three months!

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I’m currently four centimetres away from breaking into the top 20 in shot put unofficially. I still need to get classified, which means they have to take measurements of my arm just to make sure I’m in the right category moving forward. That’s going to be another two months or so. Then all my results will be officially on the rankings.

I’ve only thrown in two competitions in my life so to be ranked just outside the top 20 already is a pretty decent start. I’m looking forward to really pushing on. Ultimately I’m in shot put to be one of the best in the world. I do genuinely believe that I can make an impact in the sport.

You’ve been an ambassador and an advocate for people with disabilities in sport since you were a teenager. Do you feel society is more accepting of people with disabilities now than they were when you started your sporting journey?

Because I’m a little bit more known, I will get some positive recognition now. I would notice that for myself. But that’s only on my end. One of my biggest goals in competing in the first place is to inspire people of all abilities, not just people with disabilities, and to be a leader about it. I know there are a lot of people with disabilities looking up to me and I do feel like it’s my responsibility to keep pushing it. Even last week I met a kid who has the same arm as me and his family asked me to help him tie his shoelaces. My family couldn’t do that when I was a kid because there wasn’t someone like me in the public eye to look up to.

Now that I have a bit of a platform, I want to inspire and give confidence to people that they can do whatever they want to do as long as they work hard and set their mind to it. That’s something I’m extremely passionate about. I will always be passionate about that.

Well said, Jordan. Best of luck as you begin this new chapter.

Thanks Adam.