Where is richard whitehead from

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Related Articles. Today in Tokyo - Day Read more Read more about Today in Tokyo - Day More news articles relating to Tokyo I then built enough confidence to brave the open roads. Mainly running at night so as not to attract any attention, I began to experience the freedom of running outside. I was hooked. Like any other athlete at the beginning running was hard work and a gruelling experience.

I was getting pains on top of other pains; at times I felt I was getting nowhere and was just running backwards. At that stage I could only run for about 30 minutes. Getting the strength and belief to run further was one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. By the time summer arrived the most I had ever run was ten miles.

The ten-mile runs destroyed me physically and mentally and the distance and heat had given me blisters the size of 50 pence pieces. This running was getting me down. It was the strength that Simon showed me that I believe helped me get through those final weeks.

Simon is with me in every race I run and every challenge I take up. I have been so lucky to have been great friends with Simon and I learnt so much from him. I still believed that I would complete the New York Marathon, even if it took me a week.

In the October, five weeks before the big race, I experienced a eureka moment. A fellow amputee heard about some special running legs that were available. After a little research I found the technology that could help to make my running dream a reality. Disappointed, but still determined, I continued the gruelling training sessions on my knees using my sport cups still believing. Then out of the blue I received some fantastic news. Ossur, the company behind the running leg technology heard about my marathon challenge and donated two Flex-Run running feet.

With my local prosthetics helping to fit and make sockets for these feet it now seemed realistic that I would at least start a race! With just 13 days to go before the New York Marathon my running legs were ready. My Prosthesist, very aware that I am a determined individual, advised me to take it easy and just wear these new flex runs around the house for the first couple of days.

So I listened to his advice and then hit the road that evening running for just over two hours! With just two days to go before the big day, I needed to push myself to breaking point, to find out how far I could run. So with some water, a banana and mobile phone I ran until I could run no more. I managed 18 miles, but I could no longer walk, I was feeling nauseous and extremely distressed thinking I would struggle to make the journey across the Atlantic, never mind the running a marathon.

On the 7th November the New York marathon had arrived at an early rise at 4. Our writer, Emma Purcell, got the opportunity to interview Richard Whitehead about his disability, his careers as a marathon runner and sprinter, his preparations for Tokyo and the launch of the Richard Whitehead Foundation. Richard Whitehead is a year-old Paralympic sprinter from Nottingham. He was born without both his legs and has used prosthetics since he was a child. In , he took on his first marathon run in New York, after being inspired by his close friend and mentor Simon Mellows, who later sadly died from sarcoma , a type of cancer.

Richard continued to race in marathons and at the Chicago marathon, he broke the record as the fastest double leg amputee runner in the world. Richard held this record for another nine years until it was beaten by 28 seconds by American runner Marko Cheseto at the Boston Marathon. Therefore, he switched to the m sprint, where he won gold. In doing so, Richard became the first double leg amputee to run the length of the country. Back to sprinting, he broke the world record on his way to another world title at Doha In he claimed double sprint gold at the European Championships before heading to the Rio Paralympic Games where he defended his m title and tied for m silver.

Further success came his way in with T61 m gold at the European Championships in Berlin, Germany, followed by silver at the World Championships. Richard is now aiming to compete in the m and m at the rescheduled Tokyo Paralympic Games this summer.

In , Richard launched The Richard Whitehead Foundation , which supports disabled people and their families access sport, education, employment and other services. It also educates other communities about disability. What was it like growing up with your disability and were you into sport as a child? Obviously, growing up in the late seventies and early eighties was really tough.

I lived in a small village called Lowdham in Nottingham. So, it was quite tough. Even when I have my prosthetics off when swimming and, although I was the best swimmer in the class, they wanted me to have support in the pool, which is ridiculous, and help getting changed and all that malarkey.

How does your disability affect you on a daily basis and have you faced any challenges? Obviously, people with disabilities before they get to work or their profession, they have obstacles to overcome in society and in life. Those obstacles make everyday living really challenging. My disability is very visible with having two prosthetics and wearing shorts a lot of the time. What was the experience like taking part in your first marathon in New York ? I worked in Connecticut, America in for a year on the Camp America scheme, interacting with a lot of the young people and making loads of friends.

However, I never knew how far 26 miles was on your feet. It was just a really tough challenge to undertake, probably one of my biggest. They provide guides and assistance for veterans or amputees from all over the world that want to run marathons. Anybody can be inspired by it. Also, spectators are inspired by the stories and the kind of messages on the vest.

How does it feel to have held the world record for athletes with a double amputation in both the full and half marathon? I worked really hard with my marathon coach to get those world records. Until , I was actually the fastest ever leg amputee, either above or below knee, single leg or double leg amputee, in 2 hours 42 seconds.

I love the events, the people and the support you get. New York, Rome, London — it is great to run with all the historical features around the cities.

The people are awesome in America, very inclusive around disability. In , you took on 40 marathons in 40 days to raise money for charity. How did you come up with this idea and what was the experience like? I was inspired by an athlete called Terry Fox who tried to run across Canada from east to west.