Paul Blake

Winning gold in the T36 400m at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (teambath.com, 26 Jan 2020; bbc.com, 23 Jan 2020)

He took a six-month break from the sport in 2018 due to a foot injury. He missed the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany, before returning to action in February 2019. (paralympics.org.uk, 27 Feb 2019, 23 Feb 2019; dorsetecho.co.uk, 08 Jun 2018)

In November 2017 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Sport at the University of Bath in England. (teambath.com, 21 Nov 2017)

He was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2017 New Year's Honours list. (umsa.org.uk, 19 May 2017; paralympic.org, 31 Dec 2016)

His mother Kate was a dancer with the Royal Ballet and his grandfather played tennis at Wimbledon. His father, also named Paul, was an actor in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. He played a bounty hunter called Greedo, who was shot by Han Solo. (telegraph.co.uk, 16 Sep 2016)

He developed cerebral palsy after complications at birth. While in the womb, an abnormal amount of blood was transferred to his twin brother, starving Blake of blood. He was born with insufficient red blood cells, which required three blood transfusions and meant he spent two months in an incubator. (telegraph.co.uk, 29 Aug 2012)

RETIREMENT
In January 2020 he announced his retirement from Para athletics. "When I started out in 2009, I didn't think I'd achieve what I have in the sport. I've had an amazing time during my career. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but I can truly say I've enjoyed every step of the way with gold at the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016 the highlight." (teambath.com, 26 Jan 2020; bbc.com, 23 Jan 2020)