Whilst the New Year saw everyone out partying and all my friends and competitors counting down the clock to 2012, I wanted to be inside, bashing out a vital extra workout to bring in 2012.

So as opposed to being in a bar or out on the street with my friends, I was stripped to the waist, working up a sweat on my training rollers in the gym in my condo in Toronto.

My heart is set on London 2012 Paralympic gold and for that reason, I counted down the last seconds of 2011 alone, hammering out every last ounce of energy on the battered push rims of my high tech racing wheelchair.

Now that we are finally in 2012, I know that I must really discipline myself if I am to reach my gold medal(s) resolution and that is why I am ready to make these sacrifices.


I even made a video to show how I spent the last seconds of 2011 training and my video is available to view here.

It shows a one minute countdown to the New Year with footage of me sweating it out.

As the clock strikes 12 and party revellers kiss to Auld Lang Syne, I can be seen in lactic overload, trying to push my body to a new personal best.

I think the video shows quite clearly what the New Year means for me; particularly in terms of my athletic ambition and making it to the podium at London 2012.

Paralympic wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy is set to be one of Canada's biggest medal prospects at London 2012. The 26-year-old from Ottawa was left in a paralysed after he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, cancer in the spine and abdomen just weeks after his birth. He has gone on to compete for Canada at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and arguably his biggest victory came when he won the 2010 Virgin London Marathon.