Josef Craig won Paralympic gold in the men's 400m freestyle S7 in world-record time at London 2012.
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Josef Craig of a Great Britain competes in the Men’s 400m Freestyle - S7 Final at Aquatic Centre on London 2012 Paralympic Games
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Aged 15, Josef Craig Craig was Great Britain’s youngest athlete to win gold at London 2012. In the 400m freestyle he not only beat his teammate Jonathan Fox to win gold but also smashed the world record he had set in the morning heats.
He began swimming aged nine and in 2009 gained a place on British Swimming’s World Class Talent Programme and was earmarked as a medal contender for Rio 2016 in the S7 classification.
His aspirations to compete in London appeared to take a setback in 2011 when he was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease - a thyroid condition which led to substantial weight loss.
After eight weeks away from the pool, and the removal of his thyroid, Craig was soon back training for his first Paralympic Games.
In 2012 he set five personal bests at the Paralympic trials and was selected for the British team and the rest, as they say, is history.
In December 2012 Craig was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year, following in the footsteps of previous winner Eleanor Simmonds. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Years Honours.
