The explosion that took away Brad Snyder’s sight couldn’t touch the Navy lieutenant’s fighting spirit.

A year after stepping on an improvised explosive device laid by Taliban that he was trying to detect while on duty in Kandahar, the American is swimming at the London Paralympics — and adding sporting medals to his military ones.

“It was pretty much immediate that I [decided I] was going to try and minimise my blindness as much as possible, and get out and pursue success,” Snyder said. “And thankfully my support network was pretty savvy and said, ‘You should check out this Paralympic swimming thing’.”

Snyder’s glad he listened, having quickly excelled with the same determination he applied to clearing IEDs in one of the most dangerous Afghanistan assignments.

Before tomorrow’s anniversary of the blast, Snyder has already been on the London podium twice: winning gold in the 100-metre freestyle and silver in the 50.

“This is something every kid dreams of when they are eight,” he said. “Through blindness I’ve been able to experience a level of competition I never would have otherwise. So in a way I am very thankful for that.”

Snyder is one of many servicemen in London using sport to aid their recovery after being horrifically injured on the front lines of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars launched after the 9/11 attacks on the US.

SHARK ATTACK VICTIM

Paralympic swimmer Achmat Hassiem uses special motivation to go fast: He imagines being chased by the great white shark that bit off his right leg.

The South African was attacked by a shark off the coast of Cape Town six years ago after he lured the great white away from his younger brother. Before then Hassiem had competed in various sports, including swimming, but wasn’t sure what to do after losing his leg.

“I took to the pool like a shark in the ocean,” he said with a laugh.

On Saturday, he won bronze in the men’s 100-metre butterfly.

“My little secret is obviously that I just try and imagine I’m in the ocean and I’ve got a four-metre great white shark at my feet,” Hassiem said. “It’s definitely good motivation to swim fast.”

“I believe I lost my leg for a good reason,” he said. “Losing a leg is nothing compared to losing my brother, so I’m just trying to make the best of it. That shark turned my life around for a reason,” he said, “and I’ve got to make the best of all my opportunities now.”

BLIND NEPAL SOLDIER

Nepal athlete Bikram Bahadur Rana set a new personal best at the Paralympics, capping an extraordinary journey to the British capital from the Himalayan nation where he was blinded by Maoist rebels.

Nine years ago he and his foot patrol triggered two roadside bombs left by Maoist rebels hiding in the forest.

The explosion forced Rana to the ground, blinded and with blood pouring from an open wound in his neck as he scrambled for his rifle while bullets whizzed past and shrapnel burnt into his face.

“It was the morning of September 12, 2003. A few rain drops were falling from the sky and we had reached a road area in dense forests,” he said. “I was with two other soldiers when a bomb exploded. Both of my friends died on the spot and I was severely injured. My eyes were hurt, my face was covered with blood and there were wounds across my body.”

Rana searched desperately for his gun, coughing acrid black smoke and blinded in one eye, as a group of Maoist rebels sprang from the roadside trees and opened fire.

His life was saved when his comrades drove the insurgents back into trees. His last memory before losing consciousness was the silence that descended.

“I also heard music which sounded like water flowing in a small river but I found out it was the noise of the flow of blood from my neck and abdomen,” he said.