Great Britain at the Paralympics

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Great Britain at the
Paralympics
Flag of the United Kingdom
IPC codeGBR
NPCBritish Paralympic Association
Websitewww.paralympics.org.uk
Medals
Ranked 2nd
Gold
626
Silver
584
Bronze
579
Total
1,789
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated (under the name "Great Britain") in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.

While the Olympic Games find their origin in Greece, Britain, and specifically the Stoke Mandeville Hospital is recognised as the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games. The first Paralympic Games, held in Rome in 1960, were devised as a direct result of the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games, devised by Dr Ludwig Guttmann for soldiers with spinal cord injuries, and this legacy is commemorated before each Paralympic Games since 2012 with the lighting of a 'legacy flame' at Stoke Mandeville as part of the Paralympic torch event.[1]

Britain has performed particularly well at the Summer Paralympic Games, consistently finishing between second and fifth on the medal tables - a slightly better performance than at the Olympics. Britain has won one gold medal at the Winter Paralympics and 626 at the Summer Games. Britain is second on the all-time Paralympic Games medal table.

Britain was the co-host of the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville, and the host of the 2012 Summer Paralympics, in London.

Although the country uses the name "Great Britain", athletes from Northern Ireland are entitled to compete as part of British delegations. Representatives of the devolved Northern Ireland government, however, have objected to the name, which they argue creates a perception that Northern Ireland is not part of the British Olympic team, and have called for the team to be renamed as Team UK.[2][3]

Under the terms of a long-standing settlement between the British Olympic Association and the Olympic Council of Ireland, athletes from Northern Ireland can elect to represent Ireland at the Olympics, as Northern Irish people are legally entitled to dual citizenship.[4]

Britain's most successful Paralympian is swimmer Mike Kenny who won 16 individual gold medals, as well as two relay silvers, in four Games.[5] Although Great Britain has competed in every Games, the British Paralympic Committee was only founded in 1989, after Kenny's retirement. Media in Britain consistently refer to the most decorated Paralympic athletes from that year, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Dave Roberts and Sarah Storey as Britain's "greatest Paralympians", occasionally with the phrase "of the modern era", attached.[6] The International Paralympic Committee, however, recognise all of Kenny's eighteen medals as Paralympic medals.[7]

Britain's first Paralympic gold was earned at the 1960 Rome Games by Margaret Maughan. Her feat was recognised when Maughan was chosen to light the Paralympic Flame during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[8]

Britain's first Winter Paralympic gold was earned at the Sochi 2014 Games by Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans in the Women's Super-G Visually impaired.

Jade Etherington and guide Caroline Powell are the first and only Britons to win four medals at a single Winter Paralympics.[9] After winning a silver medal in the Super-G, visually impaired event on 14 March 2014, Etherington became Great Britain's most successful female Winter Paralympian.[10]

Hosted Games

In 2012, Great Britain became the second nation, the other being the United States, to host the Summer Paralympic Games twice.

Games Host city Dates Nations Participants Events
1984 Summer Paralympics Stoke Mandeville 22 July – 1 August 41 1100 603
2012 Summer Paralympics London 29 August – 9 September 164 4302 503

Medal tables

See also: All-time Paralympic Games medal table
*Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

(Last updated: 19 March 2018)

Multi medallists

Athletes in bold are still active

Summer Paralympics

Summer Paralympic multi medallists

Athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five medals.

No. Athlete Sport(s) Years Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Mike Kenny Swimming 1976 – 1988 M 16 2 0 18
2 Sarah Storey Swimming
Cycling		 1992 – 2016 F 14 8 3 25
3 Tanni Grey-Thompson Athletics 1988 – 2000 F 11 4 1 16
4 David Roberts Swimming 2000 – 2008 M 11 4 1 16
5 Lee Pearson Equestrian 2000 - 2016 M 11 2 1 14
6 Isabel Newstead Athletics
Shooting
Swimming		 1984 - 2004 F 10 4 4 18
7 Carol Bryant Athletics
Table tennis
Swimming
Wheelchair fencing		 1964 - 1976, 1988 F 10 2 5 17
8 Chris Holmes Swimming 1988 - 2000 M 9 5 1 15
9 Robin Surgeoner Swimming 1984 - 1988 M 9 0 0 9
10 Robert Matthews Athletics 1984 - 2004 M 8 4 1 13
11 Sophie Christiansen Equestrian 2004 - 2016 F 8 1 1 10
12 James Anderson Swimming 1992 - 2012 M 6 9 2 17
13 Valerie Robertson Archery
Athletics
Swimming
Wheelchair fencing		 1964 - 1976 F 6 4 2 12
14 Dick Thompson Athletics
Wheelchair basketball		 1960 - 1968 M 6 3 6 15
15 Darren Kenny Cycling 2004 - 2012 M 6 3 1 10
16 David Weir Athletics 2004 - 2016 M 6 2 2 10
17 Janice Burton Swimming 1984 - 1996 F 5 10 5 20
18 James Muirhead Swimming 1976 - 1984 M 5 5 3 13
19 Noel Thatcher Athletics 1984 - 2004 M 5 4 2 11
20 Barbara Anderson Archery
Swimming
Table tennis		 1960 - 1972 F 5 2 0 7
David Ellis Swimming 1964 - 1972 M 5 2 0 7
22 Ellie Simmonds Swimming 2008 - 2016 F 5 1 2 8
23 Anne Dunham Equestrian 1996 - 2008 F 5 1 1 7
24 Colin Keay Athletics 1984 - 1988 M 5 1 0 6
25 Michael Walker Athletics 1988 - 1992 M 5 0 0 5
Hannah Cockroft Athletics 2012 - 2016 F 5 0 0 5
Natasha Baker Equestrian 2012 - 2016 F 5 0 0 5
28 Margaret Maughan Archery
Dartchery
Lawn bowls
Swimming		 1960 - 1980 F 4 2 0 6
Deborah Criddle Equestrian 2004 - 2012 F 4 2 0 6
30 Caroline Innes Athletics 1992 - 2000 F 4 1 0 5
31 Jody Cundy Swimming
Cycling		 1996 - 2012 M 4 0 3 7
32 James Crisp Swimming 2000 - 2012 M 3 6 3 12
33 Margaret McEleny Swimming 1992 - 2004 F 3 5 7 15
34 Jeanette Chippington Swimming
Paracanoe		 1988 - 2004, 2016 F 3 4 6 13
35 Nigel Coultas Athletics 1988 - 1992 M 3 4 0 7
36 Stephen Payton Athletics 1996 - 2008 M 3 2 4 9
37 Giles Long Swimming 1996 - 2004 M 3 2 2 7
38 Nicola Tustain Equestrian 2000 - 2004 F 3 0 3 6
39 Kenny Churchill Athletics 1992 - 2008 M 3 0 2 5
40 Peter Hull Swimming 1988 - 1992 M 3 0 0 3
41 Martin Mansell Swimming 1984 - 1988 M 2 5 1 8
42 Clare Cunningham Swimming
Triathlon		 1992 - 1996, 2016 F 1 4 0 5

Multi medals at single Games

This is a list of British athletes who have won at least two gold medals in a single Games. Ordered categorically by gold medals earned, sports then year.

No. Athlete Sport Year Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Dick Thompson Athletics 1960 M 4 0 1 7
Wheelchair basketball 0 1 1
2 Pauline Foulds Swimming 1960 F 5 0 0 5
Robin Surgeoner Swimming 1984 M 5 0 0 5
4 Darren Kenny Cycling 2008 M 4 1 0 5
5 Barbara Anderson Swimming 1960 F 3 0 0 4
Table tennis 1 0 0
Michael Walker Athletics 1988 M 4 0 0 4
7 Janice Burton Swimming 1992 F 3 4 0 7
8 James Crisp Swimming 2000 M 3 2 2 7
9 Sarah Bailey Swimming 1996 F 3 1 1 5
10 Nigel Coultas Athletics 1988 M 3 1 0 4
Bethany Firth Swimming 2016 F 3 1 0 4
12 Stephen Payton Athletics 1996 M 3 0 1 4
13 Colin Keay Athletics 1984 M 3 0 0 3
Peter Hull Swimming 1992 M 3 0 0 3
15 Joanne Rout Swimming 1988 F 2 3 0 5
16 Jeanette Chippington Swimming 1996 F 2 1 2 5
17 Kadeena Cox Athletics 2016 F 1 1 1 4
Cycling 1 0 0
Ellie Simmonds Swimming 2012 F 2 1 1 4
18 Nicola Tustain Equestrian 2000 F 2 0 1 3
19 Thelma Young Swimming 1988 F 2 0 2 4

Multi medals at a single event

This is a list of British athletes who have won at least two gold medals in a single event at the Summer Paralympics. Ordered categorically by medals earned, sports then gold medals earned.

No. Athlete Sport Event Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Sascha Kindred Swimming Men's 200m ind. medley 1996-2016 6 M 4 1 0 5
2 Tommy Taylor Table tennis Men's doubles 1960-1980 6 M 4 0 1 5
3 Anne Dunham Equestrian Team open 1996-2008 4 F 4 0 0 4
4 Stephen Miller Athletics Men's club throw F32/51 1996-2016 6 M 3 1 2 6
5 Kenny Churchill Athletics Men's javelin throw F36 1992-2004 4 M 3 0 1 4
6 Caroline Innes Athletics Women's 100m T36 1992-2000 3 F 2 1 0 3
7 Emma Brown Powerlifting Women's -82 kg 2000-2004 2 F 2 0 0 2

Most appearances

This is a list of British athletes who have competed in four or more Summer Paralympics. Active athletes are in bold. Athletes who were aged under 15 years of age and over 40 years of age are in bold.

No. Athlete Sport(s) Birth Year Games Years First/Last Age Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Deanna Coates Shooting 1954 1984-2012 (8) 30 - 58 F 3 3 2 8
2 Isabel Newstead Athletics
Shooting
Swimming		 1955 1980 - 2004 (7) 25 - 49 F 10 4 4 18
James Rawson Table tennis 1965 1984 - 2008 (7) 19 - 43 M 5 1 2 8
Anthony Peddle Powerlifting 1971 1988 - 2012 (7) 17 - 41 M 1 0 2 3
5 Robert Matthews Athletics 1961 1984 - 2004 (6) 23 - 51 M 8 4 1 13
Jane Stidever Swimming 1966 1984 - 2004 (6) 18 - 38 F 5 5 5 15
James Anderson Swimming 1963 1992 - 2012 (6) 29 - 49 M 6 9 2 17
Jody Cundy Cycling
Swimming		 1978 1996 - 2016 (6) 18 - 38 M 7 0 3 10
Stephen Miller Athletics 1980 1996 - 2016 (6) 16 - 36 M 3 1 2 6
10 Christopher Holmes Swimming 1971 1988 - 2000 (4) 17 - 29 M 9 5 1 15
Stephen Brunt Athletics 1960 1988 - 2000 (4) 18 - 40 M 2 1 0 3

Winter Paralympics

No. Athlete Sport(s) Years Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Menna Fitzpatrick
Guide: Jennifer Kehoe		 Alpine Skiing 2018 F 1 2 1 4
2 Kelly Gallagher
Guide: Charlotte Evans		 Alpine Skiing 2010-2014 F 1 0 0 1
3 Jade Etherington
Guide: Caroline Powell		 Alpine Skiing 2014 F 0 3 1 4
4 Denise Smith Ice Sledge Speed Racing 1984 F 0 3 0 3
5 Richard Burt Alpine Skiing 1992-1994 M 0 1 3 4

See also

References

Wikinews has related news:
  1. ^ "London 2012 Paralympic Games | About Us". paralympic.org. IPC. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. ^ "No place for 'NI', says Olympic Team GB", Belfast Telegraph, 10 March 2011
  3. ^ "Minister urges BOA to change 'erroneous Team GB name'". BBC News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Full text of the constitution" (PDF). taoiseach.gov.ie. Department of the Taoiseach. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Mike Kenny (swimmer)". Paralympians' Club. Retrieved 29 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Sarah Storey Britain's greatest Paralympian of the modern era". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Meet Britain's other greatest Paralympian". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  8. ^ Olympic Broadcasting Service, channel IPC1, Paralympics International Feed, "2012 Summer Paralympics Opening Ceremonies", airdate 29 August 2012
  9. ^ "Winter Paralympics: Jade Etherington and Caroline Powell claim fourth medal". The Guardian. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Etherington becomes GB's most successful female Winter paralympian". ESPN. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
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