‘I want to dictate what goes on in my life, not my injury’ | Micky Yule’s journey from double-amputee soldier to Paralympic powerlifter
It wasn’t a day that originally seemed different to any other, but 1st July 2010 transpired to be a day that would change Micky Yule’s life forever.
Born in Edinburgh on Christmas Eve 1978, Yule decided to join the British Army at the age of 17 and ended up working in demolitions after starting out as a diving instructor at the Defence Diving School on Horsea Island.
He worked his way up the ranks to eventually become a staff sergeant and search advisor in the Royal Engineers. “My Dad had served in the army and I'd been around military people when I was younger,” Yule says.
“It had always been put on me that it'd be a great start and offer me opportunities that maybe a lot of younger kids where I was from might not get the chance to experience.
“I think from 13 I was always keen and planning on being a soldier and working out the best way that I could get there.”
Most soldiers, understandably, are desperate to avoid IEDs (improvised explosive devices) but, for Yule, it was a very different experience as his patrol’s role was to sought them out in order to destroy and eradicate their threat in a high-risk area of Afghanistan.
“A lot of demolitions, a lot of blowing stuff up, a lot of trying to work out how the enemy want to blow us up.
“My job out there was a high-risk search advisor so, if there was a high-risk of an IED or unfortunately anybody had been blown up, we'd go out and deal with that situation.”
1st July 2010 was looking like a prosperous day in the Middle East for Yule and co with two IEDs, which had been laid out by the taliban, successfully located. “That day was a good day for us” says Yule.
But then, out of nowhere, disaster struck. “I stood on a pressure-plate IED,” he recalls.
“A device that was hidden under the ground, dug in, baked over and totally camouflaged. You couldn't see it if you were two inches away from it.
“When you stand on it you compress it, it makes an electrical contact and then it blows you up.” The 40 year-old explains with very little equivocation.
People say that life can change in a single second, but Yule’s changed in a single step with the explosion taking off his left leg and severely damaging his right, which later had to be amputated.
“It’s traumatising to look down and see your legs are gone and your soul leave your body as the blood is emptying onto the sand-pit of Afghanistan.
“I broke both my hands, my right hand was hanging off. Physically, I couldn't do anything.
“I was totally in the hands and dependency of my team. The lads knew what to do, they needed to stop the bleeding. I was pouring blood out, the whole ground was red around me.”
Luckily, his experienced group managed to supply sufficient pressure to the wounds and save Yule’s life but, of course, a new challenge lay ahead for the gritty, proud Scotsman: life with a disability.
The former soldier was always naturally physical and “strangely strong” as a child and so decided to build on those existing attributes by rehabilitating himself through lifting weights, which he also used as a way of escaping the struggles of post-injury life.
“[Powerlifting] was just something I was getting into [before my accident]. I was feeling really confident, I was just looking forward to continuing the powerlifting sport that I was falling in love with...and then I got blown up.
“I initially started doing it as part of my rehab. I was having so many operations, I think I've had about 50 operations now.
“I wanted to not worry about operations or surgeries and I wanted to go 'How strong can I get next week? What can I lift in a month? What can I lift in two months?'
“I just wanted to be the Micky Yule before I got injured or, if not, then be better than that guy.”
You get the impression that Yule simply doesn’t know how to give up and that no challenge is too tough for this man to take on. Due to his immense dedication, it wasn’t long before his hard work reaped rewards and he was spotted as a major talent in para-powerlifting.
One of his first big breaks came after a chance encounter with royalty. “I met Prince Harry when I was at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.” says Yule.
“He came up to me and said 'Micky, we're running these Invictus Games for injured soldiers. We're going to try to make it as big as possible, we don't really know what's happening at the moment, but we're going to smash it. Are you interested?’
“I just said 'Boss, absolutely. Get me in there'.”
Yule had gold around his neck for the first time in the 2014 Invictus Games, later repeating the act two years later in the 2016 Invictus Games.
This came after his first Paralympics, an incredible experience for someone who watched the London 2012 games from a hospital bed.
“Rio was just crazy. As a career soldier, I'd watched all this stuff on TV and never imagined ever being there.
“I saw the closing ceremony from the last paralympics from the hospital bed and made a promise to myself that I'd be at the next one as an athlete.”
Yule came 6th in Rio but is no stranger to the winners’ podium and his proudest moment is unquestionably being victorious on the European stage.
“I'm double European-champion. It's a tough, old competition. I was already multiple British champion - but to lay your marker down to the whole of Europe and go 'I'm the Daddy of this weight group, no one here is stronger than me'. I think that's my proudest thing.”
The ultimate goal, though, is to conquer the world and the double-European champion’s preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics next year is well underway and nothing less than a podium finish will do. “[I want] medals,” says the Scotsman
“I've come fourth twice at the Commonwealth Games, I came fifth in Rio. I'm at the point now where I'm a world-level athlete and I put pressure on myself now to win every competition medal.”
Considering the imperishable determination that Yule possesses within him, you’d have to be daft to bet against him in Japan next year and cap off an incredible story with a fairytale ending. This is a man not aiming for second, but aiming for the very top of powerlifting.
He is aiming to leave a legacy larger than powerlifting behind him as well, though.
“I want to be remembered as the best athlete I can, a good guy and someone who gave his all and never settled for letting his injury dictate what was going to happen.
“I want to dictate what goes on in Micky Yule's life, not my injury.”
It’s unquestionable that Yule has already laughed in the face of his injury and will continue to do so for the rest of the time that he’s on this planet.
He’s more than just a double-amputee, he’s more than just an athlete and a Paralympic powerlifter, he’s a genuine inspiration and someone who’ll never, ever know when he’s beaten.
Born in Edinburgh on Christmas Eve 1978, Yule decided to join the British Army at the age of 17 and ended up working in demolitions after starting out as a diving instructor at the Defence Diving School on Horsea Island.
He worked his way up the ranks to eventually become a staff sergeant and search advisor in the Royal Engineers. “My Dad had served in the army and I'd been around military people when I was younger,” Yule says.
“It had always been put on me that it'd be a great start and offer me opportunities that maybe a lot of younger kids where I was from might not get the chance to experience.
“I think from 13 I was always keen and planning on being a soldier and working out the best way that I could get there.”
Most soldiers, understandably, are desperate to avoid IEDs (improvised explosive devices) but, for Yule, it was a very different experience as his patrol’s role was to sought them out in order to destroy and eradicate their threat in a high-risk area of Afghanistan.
“A lot of demolitions, a lot of blowing stuff up, a lot of trying to work out how the enemy want to blow us up.
“My job out there was a high-risk search advisor so, if there was a high-risk of an IED or unfortunately anybody had been blown up, we'd go out and deal with that situation.”
1st July 2010 was looking like a prosperous day in the Middle East for Yule and co with two IEDs, which had been laid out by the taliban, successfully located. “That day was a good day for us” says Yule.
But then, out of nowhere, disaster struck. “I stood on a pressure-plate IED,” he recalls.
“A device that was hidden under the ground, dug in, baked over and totally camouflaged. You couldn't see it if you were two inches away from it.
“When you stand on it you compress it, it makes an electrical contact and then it blows you up.” The 40 year-old explains with very little equivocation.
People say that life can change in a single second, but Yule’s changed in a single step with the explosion taking off his left leg and severely damaging his right, which later had to be amputated.
“It’s traumatising to look down and see your legs are gone and your soul leave your body as the blood is emptying onto the sand-pit of Afghanistan.
“I broke both my hands, my right hand was hanging off. Physically, I couldn't do anything.
“I was totally in the hands and dependency of my team. The lads knew what to do, they needed to stop the bleeding. I was pouring blood out, the whole ground was red around me.”
Luckily, his experienced group managed to supply sufficient pressure to the wounds and save Yule’s life but, of course, a new challenge lay ahead for the gritty, proud Scotsman: life with a disability.
The former soldier was always naturally physical and “strangely strong” as a child and so decided to build on those existing attributes by rehabilitating himself through lifting weights, which he also used as a way of escaping the struggles of post-injury life.
“[Powerlifting] was just something I was getting into [before my accident]. I was feeling really confident, I was just looking forward to continuing the powerlifting sport that I was falling in love with...and then I got blown up.
“I initially started doing it as part of my rehab. I was having so many operations, I think I've had about 50 operations now.
“I wanted to not worry about operations or surgeries and I wanted to go 'How strong can I get next week? What can I lift in a month? What can I lift in two months?'
“I just wanted to be the Micky Yule before I got injured or, if not, then be better than that guy.”
You get the impression that Yule simply doesn’t know how to give up and that no challenge is too tough for this man to take on. Due to his immense dedication, it wasn’t long before his hard work reaped rewards and he was spotted as a major talent in para-powerlifting.
One of his first big breaks came after a chance encounter with royalty. “I met Prince Harry when I was at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.” says Yule.
“He came up to me and said 'Micky, we're running these Invictus Games for injured soldiers. We're going to try to make it as big as possible, we don't really know what's happening at the moment, but we're going to smash it. Are you interested?’
“I just said 'Boss, absolutely. Get me in there'.”
Yule had gold around his neck for the first time in the 2014 Invictus Games, later repeating the act two years later in the 2016 Invictus Games.
This came after his first Paralympics, an incredible experience for someone who watched the London 2012 games from a hospital bed.
“Rio was just crazy. As a career soldier, I'd watched all this stuff on TV and never imagined ever being there.
“I saw the closing ceremony from the last paralympics from the hospital bed and made a promise to myself that I'd be at the next one as an athlete.”
Yule came 6th in Rio but is no stranger to the winners’ podium and his proudest moment is unquestionably being victorious on the European stage.
“I'm double European-champion. It's a tough, old competition. I was already multiple British champion - but to lay your marker down to the whole of Europe and go 'I'm the Daddy of this weight group, no one here is stronger than me'. I think that's my proudest thing.”
The ultimate goal, though, is to conquer the world and the double-European champion’s preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics next year is well underway and nothing less than a podium finish will do. “[I want] medals,” says the Scotsman
“I've come fourth twice at the Commonwealth Games, I came fifth in Rio. I'm at the point now where I'm a world-level athlete and I put pressure on myself now to win every competition medal.”
Considering the imperishable determination that Yule possesses within him, you’d have to be daft to bet against him in Japan next year and cap off an incredible story with a fairytale ending. This is a man not aiming for second, but aiming for the very top of powerlifting.
He is aiming to leave a legacy larger than powerlifting behind him as well, though.
“I want to be remembered as the best athlete I can, a good guy and someone who gave his all and never settled for letting his injury dictate what was going to happen.
“I want to dictate what goes on in Micky Yule's life, not my injury.”
It’s unquestionable that Yule has already laughed in the face of his injury and will continue to do so for the rest of the time that he’s on this planet.
He’s more than just a double-amputee, he’s more than just an athlete and a Paralympic powerlifter, he’s a genuine inspiration and someone who’ll never, ever know when he’s beaten.
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