Noel Thatcher
| Noel Thatcher | |
|---|---|
| Education | Exhall Grange School |
| Occupation |
British paralympic runner (1984-2004) Physiotherapist |
| Spouse(s) | Yumi |
Noel Thatcher, MBE is a British paralympic runner who represented the United Kingdom at six paralympic games between 1984 and 2004, collecting a total of five gold medals.
Life and career
Thatcher, who is visually impaired attended a mainstream primary school where he encountered difficulties with his studies because of his vision. At ten he was sent to Exhall Grange School near Coventry, a specialist school for visually impaired students, and it was here that he developed his athletic skills. Thatcher has said that he was made to run five miles every day for a month as a punishment after he was caught smoking aged twelve, and this helped him to become a proficient runner.[1]
He made his athletics debut at seventeen at a national school championships after being persuaded to attend by a friend, and won a gold medal. He went on to represent the United Kingdom at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, winning a total of five golds during that time. His two career highlights are winning gold and setting a world record at Barcelona in 1992, and winning the 5k race in Sydney in 2000, again setting a world record. At the 2004 games in Athens he carried the flag for the Great Britain team at the opening ceremony.[2]
His achievements at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta earned him an MBE in the 1997 New Year Honours for his services to athletics for disabled people.[1][3] He was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.[4]
Away from athletics Thatcher works as a physiotherapist at the Holly House Hospital in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.[1]
Personal life
Thatcher met his wife Yumi while studying Japanese at London's School of Oriental and African Studies.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Sports Legacy Initiative - News". Vision Charity. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ↑ "Noel Thatcher". 2012.youthsporttrust.org. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ↑ "SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE". London Gazette: Issue no. 54625 (HM Government of the United Kingdom). 31 December 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ↑ "Hall of Fame Inductees 2009". England Athletics. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2012.