Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
LW9-1
Further personal information
Family
Children Morgan and Ella
Languages
English
Higher education
Construction - University of Glamorgan: Cardiff, WAL
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
He first tried skiing at age 14 with his school. He took up Para alpine skiing in 2012 at the SnowDome indoor skiing centre in Tamworth, England.
Why this sport?
He was encouraged to begin skiing as part of his rehabilitation. He saw the sport as a way of keeping active and being challenged to get better. "The Paralympic aspiration started when I was in hospital because London 2012 was on at the time and there was a poster on the wall with the Paralympics on. When I was in my wheelchair I set myself the goal of getting there. I needed a lot of rehabilitation and skiing was one of the things I did, at that point I was just trying to achieve little goals and take things one step at a time."
International debut
Year
2013
Competing for
Great Britain
Location
Austria
General interest
Hobbies
Spending time with family. (themindmap.co.uk, 28 Apr 2018)
Memorable sporting achievement
Placing 12th in downhill at the 2016 World Cup Final in Aspen, CO, United States of America. (Athlete, 05 Mar 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 21 Feb 2022)
Most influential person in career
His family. (Athlete, 05 Mar 2018)
Hero / Idol
British Para rower David Smith. (Athlete, 05 Mar 2018)
Injuries
He sustained a knee injury at the start of the 2016/17 season. (snowsportwales.co.uk, 24 Apr 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"No matter how tough life gets, if you maintain a positive outlook you can achieve great things." (inthesnow.com, 2017)
Awards and honours
He was named the 2017 Emerging Athlete of the Year by Disability Sport Wales. (Facebook page, 26 Jan 2018)
Other sports
He competed at an elite level in rally driving before his accident, and has since returned to the sport to compete in international events. (chillypowder.com, 10 Sep 2020; exacteditions.com, 28 Sep 2011)
Impairment
In 2011 he was involved in a rally car racing accident in which his car left the road at around 160kph. He damaged his spinal cord, which resulted in quadriplegia. Doctors told him he would never walk again, but four months later he had regained some movement and was able to walk a short distance. (Athlete, 19 Jun 2016, 20 Nov 2013)
Results
Unit | Date | Rank |
---|
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's Giant Slalom Standing | Race 1 | 2015-03-08 | 9999 | |
Men's Slalom Standing | Race 1 | 2015-03-10 | 9999 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's Downhill Standing | Race 1 | 2017-01-25 | 9999 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's Downhill Standing | Final | 2018-03-10 | 20 | |
Men's Super-G Standing | Final | 2018-03-11 | 25 |