IT’S the waiting that’s the worst part. Next weekend, Meggan Dawson-Farrell will find out if she has been selected to be a part of Team GB at the Paralympic Games, which take place in Rio later this summer.

She is in a good position; the 23 year-old T54 wheelchair racer has achieved the A-standard for the 800m and 1500m and the B-standard for the 100m, 400m and marathon but she is too experienced to count any chickens just yet.

“Even though I’ve got those standards, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m definitely going to get selected so it’s just a case of waiting to see if I’m in the team,” she says. “There’s only so many available places in the athletics team and there’s so many events. But I’ve done my best and made the times so now I just need to wait and see if it’s been enough.

“The wait to find out if I’m in the team is pretty nerve-wracking – it’s no fun at all. It’s hard not to think about it but you just have to try and keep going.”

Dawson-Farrell, from Clackmannanshire, has had a hectic year. Regular training camps in Switzerland have helped raise her level and she has been in impressive form, including recording Grand Prix victories in Italy and England.

While the majority of her races have been on the track, she wrote herself into the history books in January by becoming the first woman ever to complete the Dubai wheelchair marathon. It was, she admits, a unique experience.

“It was crazy; we set off at 5:25am to avoid the worst of the heat and it was pitch black so we started under floodlights,” she says. “During the race I was thinking – why am I putting myself through this but I really wanted to be the first woman to complete it.

“I loved it though – it was an amazing experience.”

Dawson-Farrell was born with spina bifida and she also suffers from hydrocephalus – the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cavities of the brain. The condition is treated by inserting a shunt which drains the fluid, which means regular hospital visits.

Dawson-Farrell admits that however unpleasant it may be, it’s a situation that she has just had to get used to.

“I’ve grown up with these issues and having to be in and out of hospital so it’s like second nature to me now,” she says. “Obviously I hate having to go into hospital but knowing that I have sport really helps me – I think about getting out and getting back into training.

“I’m so used to training every day so when I’m not able to do that, I do miss it. Being forced to have a rest isn’t always a bad thing though.”

Dawson-Farrell was given a timely boost last month when she signed a sponsorship deal with the technology company CGI which will run until the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It is not just the financial aspect of this which is significant though; it is another positive step forward for para-sport.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me and it’s really great that they’ve picked a para-athlete,” she says. “Although it’s pretty crazy to think that of all the athletes in Scotland, I’m the one who’s been chosen. It’s a really nice feeling but it does add a little bit of pressure – it makes me feel like I need to do well.”

In just one week’s time, Dawson-Farrell will find out if she is to become a Paralympian and she admits that her younger self would barely believe how her career has progressed. Just 10 years ago, she wasn’t even taking part in sport never mind excelling in it.

“I never thought I’d be here – and neither did my mum or dad,” she says. “Going through school, I did no sport at all and my mum and dad have since told me that back then, they were wondering what I was going to do in life. None of us had any idea because I had nothing. Then sport came along and changed everything.”

Her mum took her to a sports-camp but Dawson-Farrell was so reluctant to try sport, she threatened to run away. Just a few days later though, she was transformed.

“Arriving at the camp, I was in tears – I was absolutely terrified because I’d always been told that I couldn’t do sport,” she recalls. “But then a few days later, I didn’t want to leave – I’d enjoyed it so much. So what’s happening now is still all pretty unbelievable.

“Whatever happens with my selection for Rio, it’s not like everything stops there – there’s the World Championships in London next year, the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in 2018 and then the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 so there’s a lot happening in the next few years.

“But to get to Rio would mean the world to me – every athlete wants to be there. I went to London 2012 to watch and it was great and so to be competing in Rio would be absolutely amazing.”