IT is 18 years since Stephen Miller won his first Paralympic gold medal in Atlanta, but as he prepares to embark on another gruelling winter training programme, the Cramlington club thrower remains as driven and committed as ever.

With three Paralympic titles under his belt, not to mention a former world record and the memories of a 12-year spell when he did not suffer a single competitive defeat, the 34-year-old could be forgiven for winding down and easing towards his retirement.

Instead, he will be out on the playing fields of Northumberland throughout the winter honing his technique and looking to build on the silver medal he claimed at this year’s IPC European Championships, a result that marked something of a return to form after a difficult few seasons.

Having failed to make the top-ten at the 2012 Paralympics in London, Miller could have bowed out with his head held high. Instead, displaying the same resolve that has enabled him to overcome the effects of being born with cerebral palsy to become one of the North-East’s most successful sportsmen, he is eyeing another golden moment in Rio in two years time.

“I was hoping I could win gold in Swansea (at the European Championships), but I didn’t quite do that,” said Miller. “To get back on the podium was really nice because I hadn’t been there since before London.

“Hopefully, I’ll go to Doha next year (for the World Championships) and get back on a podium at world level which will give me a lot of confidence going up to Rio. The main goal is to win in Rio and add another gold to my collection.

“I just enjoy doing the sport. I still love competing and being in the team, which is something which inspires me. I want to keep trying to get better, and as long as I can do that, I’ll keep doing it. You’re a long time retired and it’s a big part of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”

As well as targeting the 2016 Olympics as an opportunity to re-establish himself at the very top of his sport, Miller has also inked the date of July 2017 into his diary.

That is when London will host the IPC World Championships, giving the North-Easterner an opportunity to atone for one of the few disappointments during a career that has spanned almost two decades.

Having been named as the captain of Britain’s Paralympic athletics squad in 2012, Miller was hoping to lead from the front, with the club event coming on the opening morning of competition.

Instead, the effects of a long-standing hip injury meant he could only finish 12th, something that continues to nag away at the back of his mind.

“It was a great honour to be captain in London,” he said. “To be able to lead the team out and compete on the first morning of the Games was a great experience, it’s just a shame my body let me down at the time I needed it most.

“I think 2017 is going to be a big year for a lot of athletes in GB with it (the World Championships) being in London and back in the Olympic Stadium. For me, it’s definitely a target to get to the World Championships to put right what went wrong in the Paralympics in 2012.

“Hopefully, I’ll get to compete there and then I might have to stake a step back and re-evaluate what I want to do with my life and whether I want to keep competing or not.”

In the wake of the 2012 Games, Miller underwent hip surgery and immediately set himself the most significant challenge of his life.

Having been restricted to a wheelchair for the three years leading up to London, he vowed that he would walk down the aisle to marry his childhood sweetheart, Rachel. Ten months of painful exercises followed, but last August, he did exactly that.

“I like to set goals and, after I had my hip replaced post-London, I wanted to get back to being able to walk because I hadn’t been able to do that in the three years up to the Paralympic Games. I said to the doctor I want to walk again, and he said, ‘Go for it’.

“To be able to walk down the aisle to Rachel was a very special moment with all my friends and family there. It was the biggest day of my life, even with the Paralympic Games I’ve competed in.”

As one of the region’s most decorated Paralympians, Miller is an inspiration to the next generation of disabled athletes making their way in the sport, with his lengthy list of achievements proving that a serious illness need not be a barrier to sporting success.

“Because I train so hard, my cerebral palsy has improved as I‘ve got older,” he said. “As I get stronger, I get better and I think it’s a good measure to other people who have cerebral palsy that you can do sport and improve your condition. It can make you have a better quality of life.”