Chris Holmes (swimmer)
Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond MBE (born 15 October 1970)[1] is a former British swimmer. He won a total of nine golds, five silvers, and one bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. Holmes represented Great Britain at four Paralympics, from 1988 to 2000. He is blind.[2] It was announced that he would be elevated to the House of Lords in August 2013,[3] as a Conservative party peer.
Holmes was already a swimmer with the goal of representing his country when he became blind as a teenager due to Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy, a genetic eye disorder. He joined a Birmingham club where he committed to the same training regime as other sighted swimmers aspiring to the Olympics. He went on to study politics at Cambridge, and became a Paralympic activist, in particular drawing attention to the issues of equal accommodations and facilities for Paralympic athletes.[4]
Holmes has also been a Commissioner for the Disability Rights Commission. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1993 New Year's Honours,[5] for services to swimming for the disabled.[6]
In August 2009, he was named the Director of Paralympic Integration for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London.[7]
On 13 September 2013 he was created a life peer taking the title Baron Holmes of Richmond, of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.[8]
References
- ↑ http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/h/24676/Christopher+HOLMES.aspx
- ↑ "The face of modern celebrity", The Independent, 7 September 2005
- ↑ Working Peerages announced Gov.uk
- ↑ Alex Wolff (25 June 2012). "Britain hopes to overhaul attitudes during the 2012 Paralympic Games". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53153. p. 14. 31 December 1992.
- ↑ "Rod Carr And Chris Holmes Appointed To The Board Of UK Sport", Department for Culture, Media and Sport, British government, 11 September 2005
- ↑ Listen to Chris Holmes: on being a Paralympian, his new role, and more. London 2012 blog (official blog of the organizers of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics); published 2009-08-28, retrieved 2009-09-03
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 60630. p. 18309. 17 September 2013.
External links
- Christopher Holmes's profile on paralympic.org
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