Richard Whitehead (athlete)

Richard Whitehead MBE

Richard Whitehead with his Paralympic Gold medal at the Our Greatest Team Parade
Personal information
Nationality British
Born (1976-07-19) 19 July 1976
Nottingham
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Country  Great Britain
Sport Running
Achievements and titles
World finals 2012 London 200m – 24.38s (WR)
Medal record
Men's paralympic athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
2016 Rio 100 m T42
2016 Rio 200 m T42
2012 London 200 m T42
IPC World Championships
2011 Christchurch 200 m T42
2013 Lyon 200 m T42
2015 Doha 200 m T42
2017 London 200 m T42
2017 London 100 m T42
IPC European Championships
2012 Stadskanaal 200 m T42
2016 Grosseto 100 m T42
2016 Grosseto 200 m T42
2012 Stadskanaal 100 m T42

Richard Whitehead MBE (born 19 July 1976) is a British athlete. He runs with prosthetic legs, as he has a double through-knee congenital amputation.

He holds the world record for athletes with a double amputation, in both the full and half marathon.[1] At the 2010 Chicago Marathon, he broke his previous world record for athletes with lower-limb amputations, with a time of 2:42:52.[2]

Whitehead was unable to compete in the marathon at London 2012 as there was no category for leg amputees, and was refused permission by the IPC to compete against upper-body amputees and so had to turn to sprinting to compete at the 2012 Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in the 200m T42 Athletics event with a world record time of 24.38 seconds.[3][4]

His earlier career was a swimming teacher at Clifton Leisure Centre in Nottingham. He is a former ice sledge hockey player, and competed for the GB team at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.

Whitehead was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[5][6]

Whitehead was appointed the first-ever patron of Sarcoma UK, the bone- and soft-tissue cancer charity, on 28 January 2013

Richard is also a patron of Gedling Sports Partnership, a charity that promotes sport and Physical Education in the borough of Gedling.

His name was added to the Nottingham City Transport bus service "Pathfinder 100" on 18 September 2012; the bus links his home village of Lowdham with Southwell and Nottingham.

On 21 April 2013 he competed in the London Marathon coming in 23rd place with a time of 3:15:53.

In 2013, he launched his fundraising campaign, "Richard Whitehead Runs Britain", to run from John O'Groats to Land's End.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sprinter Whitehead secures cash boost after golden display, thisisbristol.co.uk, 16 February 2011
  2. ↑ Richard Whitehead Sets New World Best in Chicago Marathon, oandp.com, 26 October 2010
  3. ↑ Gibson, Owen (1 September 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Richard Whitehead sprints to glory in T42 200m final". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Paralympics 2012: Richard Whitehead wins 200m gold for GB". Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 25.
  6. ↑ NY13 Honours – London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cabinet Office
  7. ↑ "Richard Whitehead Runs Britain".
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