Richard Whitehead
MBE
Richard Whitehead with his Paralympic Gold medal at the Our Greatest Team Parade
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1976-07-19) 19 July 1976
Nottingham
Weight80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportRunning
Achievements and titles
World finals2012 London 200m – 24.38s (WR)
Medal record
Men's paralympic athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 200 m T61
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio 100 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio 200 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 200 m T42
IPC World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Christchurch 200 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2013 Lyon 200 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2015 Doha 200 m T42
Gold medal – first place2017 London200 m T42
Bronze medal – third place2017 London100 m T42
IPC European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Stadskanaal 200 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2016 Grosseto 100 m T42
Gold medal – first place 2016 Grosseto 200 m T42
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Stadskanaal 100 m T42

Richard Whitehead MBE (born 19 July 1976) is a British athlete. He runs with prosthetic legs, as he has a double through-knee congenital amputation.

He set world records for athletes with a double amputation, in both the full and half marathon.[1] At the 2010 Chicago Marathon, he broke his previous world record for athletes with lower-limb amputations, with a time of 2:42:52.[2] Whitehead's marathon record was beaten by 28 seconds by Marko Cheseto at the 2019 Boston Marathon.[3]

Whitehead was unable to compete in the marathon at London 2012 as there was no category for leg amputees, and was refused permission by the IPC to compete against upper-body amputees and so had to turn to sprinting to compete at the 2012 Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in the 200m T42 Athletics event with a world record time of 24.38 seconds.[4][5]

His earlier career was a swimming and dance teacher at Clifton Leisure Centre in Nottingham. He is a former ice sledge hockey player, and competed for the GB team at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.

Whitehead was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[6][7]

Whitehead was appointed the first-ever patron of Sarcoma UK, the bone- and soft-tissue cancer charity, on 28 January 2013.[8]

Whitehead is a patron of Footprints Conductive Education Centre, a charity in his home town of Nottingham, who help children with mobility and communication problems develop the skills they need to thrive and achieve their potential. Whitehead is also a patron of Gedling Sports Partnership, a charity that promotes sport and physical education in the borough of Gedling.

His name was added to the Nottingham City Transport bus service "Pathfinder 100" on 18 September 2012; the bus links his home village of Lowdham with Southwell and Nottingham.

On 21 April 2013 he competed in the London Marathon coming in 23rd place with a time of 3:15:53.

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Whitehead won gold in the T42 200 metres[9] and silver in the T42 100 metres, which he shared with Denmark's Daniel Wagner after the pair finished in a dead heat for second.[10]

In 2013, he launched his fundraising campaign, "Richard Whitehead Runs Britain", to run from John O'Groats to Land's End.[11]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Whitehead won silver in the T61 200 metres.[12]

In 2022, Whitehead took part in Channel 4's Celebrity Hunted. He was caught 5th, after falling over a gate, and subsequently lying low in a field. His teammate Iwan Thomas successfully made it to the extraction point to win.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sprinter Whitehead secures cash boost after golden display, thisisbristol.co.uk, 16 February 2011
  2. ↑ Richard Whitehead Sets New World Best in Chicago Marathon, oandp.com, 26 October 2010
  3. ↑ Bragg, Beth (15 April 2019). "Former Anchorage runner Cheseto clocks world's fastest marathon by a double amputee". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Gibson, Owen (1 September 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Richard Whitehead sprints to glory in T42 200m final". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Paralympics 2012: Richard Whitehead wins 200m gold for GB". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 25.
  7. ↑ NY13 Honours – London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cabinet Office
  8. ↑ "About Richard Whitehead MBE". 3 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Men's 200m – T42 – Final". Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "Men's 100m – T42 – Final". Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "Richard Whitehead Runs Britain".
  12. ↑ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
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