Setting world records for double amputation athletes in both the half and full marathon Richard Whitehead boasts an incredible amount of achievements both on and off the track.
We sat down with him to look back on the highs and lows of a breathtaking career.
We sat down with him to look back on the highs and lows of a breathtaking career.
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00:00 Driven by a desire to compete in sport as a professional athlete on the world stage and push boundaries, Richard Whitehead was selected for the Paralympics GB team as a sledge hockey player at the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Turin.
00:16 Having experienced the pride of representing his country when the news of London 2012 broke, Richard was keen to compete in the marathon on home soil. However, to his disappointment, he was refused to race against upper body amputees. That, however, did not stop him.
00:33 I'm biased but I'm sure a lot of individuals that went to London 2012 and said it was the best games ever, I think because it really incorporated what it's like to be British and all the good points of being British and London was a great city for those four to six weeks that the Olympics and Paralympics were on.
00:54 It really embodied the kind of history of the country, the coming together, the inclusivity of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and everybody was encouraged and supported to get to the events.
01:08 The events were inclusive, the events were accessible, everybody came away with new experiences of what a person with a disability can do and not what the problems and the can't do for people with disabilities.
01:28 Richard expressed the amount of different teams he's been involved in across his career and the importance of being involved in a team and what it does positively for your mental health.
01:39 Being part of a team like Paralympics GB, you're meeting people from lots of different backgrounds, lots of different disabilities, ethnicities and that's really important that you understand what equality, diversity, inclusion really does look like. But also that there's barriers and obstacles that we have to overcome within that process.
02:00 After remarkable success in London and Rio at the Paralympic Games, winning back to back gold medals, Tokyo was a very different experience. With no fans and following support, Richard explained the similarities of the empty stadiums to people that have an everyday disability.
02:18 Definitely a different experience, not having family and friends in the stadium. A lot of people with disabilities were kind of, yeah this isn't my life. Not going out, not being able to get out the front door. That's what I feel like as a person with a disability. Now you're in my shoes and you're not coping very well. So there was a real kind of difference of mental health, physical health kind of attributes because of that.
02:45 An outstanding career with such a powerful message about ensuring throughout life you value being part of a team. Richard represents not only his team's and career success but the disabled community and goes a long way to make sure they're given the thought and respect that they deserve.
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