Paul's story – a record-breaking Paralympic medallist

Paul, who lives at Pensby Road – one of our supported living services, was born with Cerebral Palsy, a condition that can affect a person’s posture, balance, and the ability to move, communicate, sleep or eat, but despite this he has always believed that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it. When he was young Paul never let his disability get in the way of his love for sports. During his time in school he enjoyed athletics and swimming and went on to win several competitions.

In his mid-20’s, following one of his swimming victories, Paul was spotted and scouted for athletics, something he had always enjoyed and had an interest in during his school years. In the 1980’s Paul started his athletics journey by competing for Great Britain in C5 sprint events.  With his dad by his side as his coach, they trained three to four times a week at the Able Sports Centre. The main part of the training regimen was long distance running. “The training was tough but nothing comes easy. I knew if I trained hard I had a real shot of accomplishing something great”, Paul said.

In 1990, Paul went to The World Games where he broke four world records for 100m, 200m and two relays. Following his success at The World Games, Paul was selected to compete in the 1992 summer Paralympics in Barcelona where he went on to win a silver medal in the 100m. In 1996, Paul retired after competing in the 100m and winning a bronze medal in Atlanta.

Paul said, “My proudest achievement was winning a silver medal at my first Paralympic game in Barcelona. In that moment, I thought about how hard I had trained and to see that come to fruition was a feeling that nothing can top. I proved to myself and everyone that anything is possible if you put your mind to it."

At 55, and showing no signs of slowing down, Paul still enjoys an active life and spends the majority of his time playing various sports. Paul hopes to keep inspiring people living with physical disabilities. “I want to encourage anyone with a disability and a dream to rise above their disabilities. If you have a dream you want to achieve, the only thing standing between you and that dream is determination and practice” he said.