A Carnoustie woman has spoken of how she achieved success after being written off at school due to her visual impairment.
Kirsten Taylor is targeting Paralympic glory in Paris next year after becoming one of the world’s top judokas in her category.
The 34-year-old also runs a successful business selling dog leads and regularly shows her canines at Crufts.
Sight problems caused school dismay
This is all a far cry from her struggles growing up with rare cone dystrophy, which affects her central and colour vision.
In bright light she can hardly see a thing.
She recalls hating PE at Carnoustie High School.
“My teacher didn’t understand how bad my vision was,” said Kirsten, who also attended Panbride Primary.
“It was frustrating because I always liked sport but my teacher used to think I was just messing about and I was seen as disruptive.”
Judo hopes at European Para Championships
The once-maligned pupil is now focusing on the European Para Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which begins on Tuesday, August 8.
She goes into the event ranked at fifth in the world in the women’s J2 +70kg category in judo.
Last year she took silver at the 2022 Kazakhstan Grand Prix, and finished fourth in the European Championships and seventh in the World Championships.
In 2023 she has so far collected bronze at the 2023 Egyptian Grand Prix.
‘Unsupported’ in other sports
The road to sporting success began after she finished school.
Kirsten tried her hand at swimming, dressage and athletics – though felt she was overprotected as she recalls not being allowed to take part in sprint training.
“They didn’t know what to do with me,” she recalled.
“I was either completely unsupported or if we were meant to be doing sprints they wanted me to just walk.”
‘Absolutely no weirdness’ at Tayside Judo
After quitting both athletics and swimming, she was introduced to judo at a Scottish Disability Sport Have a Go Day in 2016.
She was hooked as soon as he arrived at her first session at Tayside Judo.
“I turned up on the first night and there was absolutely no weirdness about my visual impairment,” she recalled.
“Everyone at the club treated it like it was completely normal.”
She began regularly attending training sessions with Tayside Judo in Perth and Dundee.
Her dedication and self-belief was soon rewarded with a place in the Paralympic Pathway Programme with Team GB.
Carnoustie woman shows off her dogs at Crufts
Kirsten says she is too busy with dog activities to get bogged down by pre-event nerves.
She has a Papillon called Maybe, a black German Shepherd called Magic and a black and tan German Shepherd called Raven.
For 18 years she has been showing her dogs – including at Crufts, where she also sells the leads she makes for her business Panbride Pets.
“It’s different and allows me to switch off and focus on something else,” said Kirsten.
From September she will have even more on her plate when she begins a soft tissue therapy course at Perth College.
Impaired athletes find home at Tayside Judo
Kirsten goes into the European Championships full of confidence knowing she found her true calling in judo, a sport that has embraced her.
Her message to anyone thinking of taking up the sport is simple.
“Try judo, find a club.
“We’ve had a good few visually impaired athletes come through Tayside Judo.
“They turn up and don’t leave.”
