AFTER years of tireless training, contests and pushing himself through physical and mental pain barriers, parathlete Andy Lewis will represent Great Britain at this year’s Paralympic Games in Rio.

But he says he couldn’t have done it without the support of his nearest and dearest.

The Lydney dad-of-two announced the fantastic news on his Facebook page last Friday – within minutes he was overwhelmed with hundreds of well wishes from friends and followers.

He said: “The support from everybody has just been phenomenal. I can’t thank my family enough for supporting me over the last two years. But my journey isn’t over yet, in fact, it is just starting.

“My training will remain the same except I’ll be in Loughborough more. I’m off to the World Championships this weekend so my dream of becoming European champion, world champion and Paralympic champ may one day become a reality.”

The Review has been closely following the 33-year-old’s road to Rio since 2013 and celebrated his rise and falls.

To date, Andy’s personal best for running three miles, swimming 750m and cycling 12.5 miles is 59mins.

He said: “I will for sure be holding a party when I return from Rio regardless of result.”

Dubbed the Blade Runner, Andy decided to have his right leg amputated through the knee in 2005 following a motorcycle accident six years before.

Determined to make the best of a tough situation, in 2013 he appealed to the Forest people for donations to buy an £8,000 running blade to compete in Paralympic-style contests. The blade was fitted to the remaining part of his leg and enabled him to walk and run.

The same year he was one of 12,500 people selected across the country by the National Lottery to run five miles at an Olympic stadium as part of the anniversary of the London Olympic Games 2012.

The following year, after partaking in a series of contests, Andy became British elite duathlon champion, won gold at the Elite ITU World Paratriathlon and represented GB at the ITU World Series Triathlon where he narrowly missed out on silver by 40 seconds.

With Rio in his sights, Andy stepped up his game in 2015 to ensure he wouldn’t miss out on his life goal. Various contests in blistering heats gave him a taste of what to expect.

This year has been another success with him making his presence known in Australia and, just last month, he became European champion.

Andy added: “It has been a whirlwind. I really can’t thank all those who have helped me on my journey enough.”

The Games start on September 7.