Not just a diversity unicorn: A Q&A with Paralympic sailor Alexandra Rickham

Biracial, female, and tetraplegic, Alexandra Rickham is the best sailor ever that almost never was. Now she’s advancing diversity in competitive sports.

Were it not for a shallow diving accident at age 14, the Jamaican-born phenom, Alexandra Rickham, would not have gotten introduced to the sport at all. Luckily, rehab brought her into the fold that has become her athletic calling. Since starting her career in 2006, she has earned two Bronze medals and won five world championships for the British paralympic team. Now, she works with athletes and advocacy groups ensuring that accessibility doesn’t keep other aspiring athletes benched.

Rickham shares with FanSided the history of her career and how, even after retiring, she’s advancing diversity in competitive sports, especially for those who are differently-abled.

How did your athletic career begin? Did you always want to be an athlete?

Rickham: I always loved sport and as a child would have given anything to be a full-time athlete. I have always loved the water and had tried sailing a few times. To be honest, I had a fascination with it before I began my career, but I wasn’t really a student-athlete. I started racing towards the end of my Master’s Degree. Like many other Paralympic athletes I fit many of the required criteria for a new event at Beijing 2008; the SKUD18 and the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) were aware of my dabbling in the sport and offered me the opportunity to be fast track trained.

When people think of you, they might see you as highly intersectional (Black, woman, Jamaican, British, Athlete, Environmentalist, etc.). How do you identify yourself?

Rickham: Someone once called me a diversity unicorn, which I thought was quite fun. I identify as all of the above, but often not all at the same time. I am biracial, so life has always been made up of multiple facets. I am proud of my heritage, both black and white, Jamaican and British. I think my intersectionality has allowed me to be more empathetic. I think more actively about my place in the world. I ask both ‘how do I fit in?’ and ‘how can I disprove people who underestimate me?’

What are some of the myths or challenges you’ve had to confront in your journey from student-athlete to professional athlete?

Rickham: I wasn’t very good at focusing on my dissertation and research, due to sailing. I didn’t balance things very well and I didn’t show the same level of discipline in university work as in sports. This was partly because, at the time, this was initially something I was doing independently with my sailing partner, rather than being part of an established and supported program. So balance was the biggest challenge.

Please share what you’re doing now to advance inclusion for younger athletes.

Rickham: Currently my activity with younger athletes centers more around my views around sustainability, climate change, and diversity. I work as a sustainability consultant and have recently started in a diversity & impact role within sailing. I speak in schools and am part of Eco Athletes, a not-for-profit that helps support athletes use their unique platform and voice for good. I hope to increase my work with athletes now that I have understood my greater purpose as a person, not just an athlete.

Sailing, like many other sports, has a long way to go on the journey to being diverse. This is at all levels of the sport. The one positive thing is that the issue is recognized. I believe we are starting to see a movement towards creating pathways in the sport and opportunities towards a more equitable future. That being said, nothing can come quickly enough at the moment and overcoming the barriers to inclusion, one of which is financial, is not an easy fix. I hope to affect change at the decision-making level in the coming years. Frankly, that is the level at which all sports need to improve their diversity.

Why We Play features stories about the power of sports to bring us together, overcome obstacles, make positive change and reach everyone. Read more here.