 Richardson carrying the Paralympic flame in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 November 1966 Porthcawl, Wales |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Big Maggys |
| Discipline | Track & Road |
| Role | Rider |
Medal record | |
Simon Richardson MBE (born 10 November 1966) is a Welsh paralympic racing cyclist.
Richardson was born in 1966 in Porthcawl, Wales, and is the son of John and Diana Richardson. He is married to Amanda and has two sons Ashley and Benjamin. [1] In 2001 he was involved in a car accident which left him with serious leg and back injuries and no feeling down his left hand side. [2] Prior to his accident Richardson was a keen cyclist, but he stopped cycling until 2005 when his doctors advised him to start training again to help his rehabilitation. [1] Richardson cycled powered only by his right leg, riding an adapted bike. [2] He made his debut in the Welsh national team in 2006, competing at the Welsh Grand Prix and entered the road race and time trial, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. He later competed at the Para-Cycling Europa Cup held in 2007 which was held in Germany where he placed seventh. [3] Richardson is coached by Courtney Rowe and trains at the Wales National Velodrome, which is situated in the Newport International Sports Village. His development is organised through the Disability Sport Wales Performance Programme. [3]
It was announced on 31 December 2008 that Richardson was to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours "[f]or services to Disabled Sport". [4]
In August 2011, Richardson was injured when struck by a hit and run driver, whilst he was cycling on the A48 between Cowbridge and Bridgend, South Wales. He was described as being in "critical condition", with "fractures to the spine, a broken pelvis, a broken breast bone, cuts to his legs, and a "detached" lung". The injuries meant that he was unable to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, despite having been "a very top contender to be considered" for the Games. [5]
The motorist who hit Richardson was subsequently convicted of dangerous driving and jailed for 18 months at Cardiff Crown Court. [6]
Richardson competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics held in Beijing, China, initially in the LC 3–4 class kilo, finishing in a world record time of 1 minute 14.936 seconds. [7] This time secured the gold medal and was his first win in a major event. Richardson later competed in the LC3–4 3 km individual pursuit, finishing in 3 minutes 49.214 seconds which secured his second gold medal of the games. [8] The LC3–4 class is for athletes with lower limb disabilities, which may affect one or both of the lower limbs. [9] Richardson went on to take the Silver medal in the LC3 class road time trial in a time of 38 minutes 23.73 seconds, 23.42 seconds behind gold medallist Laurent Thirionet. [10] [11] He also competed in the men's individual road race on 13 September 2008, finishing in tenth place. [12]
Iwan Gwyn Thomas is a Welsh sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is a former European, Commonwealth Games and World 4 × 400 metres relay champion.
David Evan Roberts CBE, is a Welsh swimmer. An eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist, he is one of Great Britain's most successful Paralympians ever.
Ellen Hunter is a Welsh competitive cyclist and tandem pilot for Aileen McGlynn at Paralympic events.
Aileen McGlynn is a Scottish paralympic tandem champion cyclist, tandem piloted until 2009 by Ellen Hunter but most regularly piloted by Helen Scott.
John McFall is a British Paralympic sprinter, surgeon, and ESA Project astronaut. In November 2022, he was selected by the European Space Agency to become the first "parastronaut". ESA will do a feasibility study on him flying to space and what needs to be adapted for disabled people.
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.
Malta competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China from 6 to 17 September 2008. This was the island nation's seventh appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games since their debut in 1960, but their first since the 1984 Summer Paralympics 24 years earlier. Antonio Flores, a runner, was the only athlete to represent Malta at the Games, having qualified via the 2008 British Open Athletics Championships. At the Paralympics, Flores did not qualify for the final of the men's 100 metres T44 event after placing 11th overall in the competition and fifth in his heat during the heat stages; the fastest four participants in his heat advanced to the final.
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.
Darren Kenny is a British road and track racing cyclist and Paralympian. Kenny's results have made him one of his sport's biggest stars; his dominance over multiple Paralympics gave rise to his nickname of 'Daz the Destroyer'.
Anthony Edward Kappes MBE is an English road and track racing cyclist and Paralympian.
Nyree Elise Kindred MBE is a Welsh swimmer who has competed in the Paralympic Games on four occasions winning ten medals.
Simon Jackson MBE is a visually impaired judoka and cyclist from Britain. He has competed in five Paralympic Games winning gold medals in three consecutive Games. Jackson is the only British person to win a Paralympic judo gold medal and the most successful judo competitor from the country. In addition to his Paralympic success he also won three world titles and 16 European gold medals. He switched to tandem cycling and won two events in 2009.
Jayme Richardson is an Australian Paralympic cyclist. She was born in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown with cerebellar ataxia due to asphyxiation at birth. She began cycling in October 2004 after seeing a post Athens Paralympic interview with Silver Medalist Claire McLean where Claire said Australia needed more female Para-cyclists. At the time Jayme was a swimmer and was doing very well, having competed both through school to CHS Level and out of school to National Level, however she felt that there was something greater out there for her and decided that a change was needed.
LC4 is a para-cycling classification.
LC3 is a para-cycling classification for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only.
LC2 is a para-cycling classification.
Burkina Faso sent a delegation to the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This was the country's fifth appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games. The Burkinese delegation to London consisted of two athletes, Lassane Gasbeogo and Kadidia Nikiema, who competed in wheelchair cycling at the Brands Hatch race circuit in Kent. Neither athlete won any medals in their respective events, with the best finish of Burkina Faso at these Paralympics coming from Nikiema in the women's road trial H3 race with a sixth-place result.
Mark Lee Colbourne MBE is a former Welsh paralympic-cyclist, who competed for both Wales and Great Britain.
James Roberts MBE is a wheelchair basketball player and Paralympic athlete based in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, Wales. Roberts was born with a disability called femoral dysplasia. He started out in his sporting career as a swimmer, and progressed on to other Paralympic sports, such as rowing and sitting volleyball. He competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, finishing fifth in the trunk and arm classification in adaptive rowing. He also competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, finishing 8th in the sitting volleyball. More recently he has begun playing wheelchair basketball for local side Rhyl Raptors.
Stephen Thomas is a British Paralympic sailor. Thomas has represented Great Britain at three Summer Paralympics and with his colleagues John Robertson and Hannah Stodel has won multiple medals in the Mixed Sonar class at the Disabled Sailing World Championships, including gold in 2005 and 2006.
