Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 1964or1965(age 58–59) Portaferry, Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Cycling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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James Brown is a former Northern Irish paralympic-cyclist, who competed for Great Britain, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. He is visually impaired and participated in five Paralympic Games in various sports. Brown earned two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in athletics and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the men's road time trial with sighted pilot Damien Shaw.
Brown is visually impaired from birth and began cycling at the age of five and running at the age of 13 while attending the Royal National College for the Blind. [1] Following instruction in skiing, he joined the British Paralympic Team for the 1982 Disabled Alpine World Championships. He later worked at the Royal National College for the Blind as a volunteer guide runner, including at the World Youth Games for the Disabled. [1]
At the 1984 Summer Paralympics in New York City, Brown won two gold medals in athletics for Great Britain in the 800-metre and 1500-metre. [2] He later participated in several other editions of the Summer and Winter Paralympics in other events, including cross-country skiing and the biathlon. [3]
Brown planned to enter the 2008 Paralympic Games as a cyclist, but missed the games because of an injury. [4] The following year, he joined the Irish team and began his partnership with sighted pilot Damien Shaw in 2011. [5] At the 2012 Paralympic Games, Brown and Shaw won a bronze medal in the men's road time trial B. The pair had also finished fourth in the men's individual pursuit B and ninth in the men's 1 km time trial B. [2]
He later represented Northern Ireland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, partnering with Dave Readle in the men's tandem sprint B and men's tandem time trial B, finishing fifth in both events. [6] Brown was banned from competition from 2016 to 2018 by Sport Ireland and Cycling Ireland for violating anti-doping rules, to which he admitted. [7]
Brown retired from sport in 2015 and joined Mobiloo, a social enterprise that aims to provide portable toilets that are accessible for the disabled. [8] He has since participated in several Extinction Rebellion protests and has been arrested several times for non-violent civil disobedience; he has cited his daughter for inspiring his climate change activism. [8] On 10 October 2019, he climbed on the fuselage of a British Airways plane at London City Airport as part of Extinction Rebellion's takeover of the airport. [9] [10] At a subsequent court hearing, he denied the charge of causing a public nuisance and was granted conditional bail by a district judge that barred him from being within one mile (1.6 km) of an airport. [11] On 28 July 2021, following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, Brown was convicted of causing a public nuisance. Presiding judge Gregory Perrins set a sentencing hearing for 17 September. [12] On 24 September 2021, he was given a prison term of one year. [13] [14] In February 2022, Brown was found guilty of aggravated trespass after he climbed on top of a High Speed 2 drilling rig in February 2020. [15]
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Great Britain sent a delegation of around 400, of which 212 were athletes, to compete in eighteen sports at the Games. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom; athletes from Northern Ireland, who may elect to hold Irish citizenship under the pre-1999 article 2 of the Irish constitution, are able to be selected to represent either Great Britain or Ireland at the Paralympics. Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Paralympic competition.
Stephen James Miller MBE is a British athlete who competes in the fields of Paralympic club and discus throwing. He has won three gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the F32/51 club throw at the Paralympics. In Paralympic F32/51 discus he won one bronze medal.
Jody Alan Cundy, is an English cyclist and former swimmer. He has represented Great Britain at seven Summer Paralympics winning eight Gold, one Silver and three Bronze medals across swimming and cycling events. He has also competed in multiple World Championships, winning 23 world titles, the most recent coming at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in August 2023. In August 2023, it was announced that Jody will be a contestant on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Kieran John Modra was an Australian Paralympic swimmer and tandem cyclist. He won five gold and five bronze medals at eight Paralympic Games from 1988 to 2016, along with two silver medals at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Jason Smyth is an Irish retired sprint runner. He competes in the T13 disability sport classification as he is legally blind, with his central vision being affected by Stargardt's disease; he also competes in elite non-Paralympic competition. As of July 2014, Smyth holds T13 World records in the 100m and 200m events.
Australia has participated officially in every Paralympic Games since its inauguration in 1960 except for the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
Evan George O'Hanlon, is an Australian Paralympic athlete, who competes mainly in category T38 sprint events. He has won five gold medals at two Paralympic Games – 2008 Beijing and 2012 London. He also represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a silver medal and a bronze medal respectively. In winning the bronze medal in the Men's 100m T38 at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, O'Hanlon became Australia's most successful male athlete with a disability. His bronze medal took him to 12 medals in five world championships – one more than four-time Paralympian Neil Fuller.
Dame Sarah Joanne Storey, is a British Paralympic athlete in cycling and swimming, and a multiple gold medalist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion. Her total of 28 Paralympic medals including 17 gold medals makes her the most successful and most decorated British Paralympian of all time as well as one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes of all time. She has the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in Paralympics before turning 19.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 1992 Winter Paralympics held in Tignes and Albertville, France. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes.
Danielle Brown MBE is a British competitive archer and award winning children's author. She has competed in the Paralympic Games winning gold medals in Beijing and London and has also won medals shooting in the able bodied category including the Commonwealth Games.
Great Britain competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012 as the host nation. A total of 288 athletes were selected to compete along with 13 other team members such as sighted guides. The country finished third in the medals table, behind China and Russia, winning 120 medals in total; 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze. Multiple medallists included cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair athlete David Weir, who won four gold medals each, and swimmer Stephanie Millward who won a total of five medals. Storey also became the British athlete with the most overall medals, 22, and equal-most gold medals, 11, in Paralympic Games history.
Tom Leahy is a paralympic athlete from Ireland competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight Paralympic Games. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
David Nicholas, is an Australian cyclist. He won silver and gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics and a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Ireland competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom from August 29 to September 9, 2012. There are 49 participants representing Ireland at the games, competing across ten sports.
To commemorate British gold medal winners at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, various post boxes in the home towns of the medal winners around the United Kingdom, plus one each on Sark and the Isle of Man, were repainted gold. It marked the first occasion in modern times that the colour of post boxes in the United Kingdom had been changed from their traditional red. Originally intended to be a temporary measure, due to the positive public response it was later decided the colour change would become a permanent tribute, with boxes additionally receiving their own special plaques.
Muhammad Ziyad bin Zolkefli is a Paralympic athlete from Malaysia who competes in T20 classification shot put events. He is the current world record holder in his event. Zolkefli represented Malaysia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where he won the bronze medal in the shot put. As well as Paralympic success, Muhammad Ziyad has won both the World Championship and Asian Para Games titles in his sport, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Great Britain competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place between 21 August and 6 September 2020, the Games were postponed to 24 August to 5 September 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. British athletes have competed at sixteen consecutive Summer Paralympics since 1960.
Extinction Rebellion has taken a variety of actions since 2018 in the UK, USA, Australia and elsewhere.
Phil Kingston is a climate activist and protester with the climate groups Christian Climate Action and Extinction Rebellion.