Nottingham-based athlete and motivational speaker Richard Whitehead MBE has won an array of medals at the Paralympics, but his influential work goes beyond the track. We caught up with him about his greatest achievements and the importance of giving back to the community…
Firstly, I wondered how you got into sport, and since you grew up in Nottingham, I was curious about how the city influenced and shaped your early career?
Growing up in the late seventies, early eighties, sports provision for people with disabilities was very limited. My parents saw the power of sport as an opportunity to break down social barriers. I started with swimming and gymnastics – I was taught to swim at Bingham Leisure Centre and I went to a gymnastics club called Dako. The obstacles I faced at school moulded my opinions on the importance of sport for both mental and physical health.
You were unable to compete in the marathon at London 2012 since there was no category for leg amputees. How did it feel to be excluded like this and did it feel like a major setback at the time?
The Paralympic movement is seen as an inclusive platform for people with disabilities, but it’s not at all. They’re exclusively for people who fit into the classes they have within the sport sector. It took me a couple of years to transition from long distance into sprints, and trying to be competitive doing that. It’s important that when you have these struggles or these obstacles, that you have people around you to support you and engage you with what’s important.
What did the process of retraining for the sprints involve, and was it difficult to adapt when you were used to competing in marathons?
I was doing a lot of heavy weights in the gym. I was 59kg when I was running marathons, and when I won the 200m in London, I was 76kg. I had to put on a lot of muscle bulk to generate power on the track. I was doing more intense sessions, but I was still running on the road, because even though 200m is a sprint, you need to have endurance as well. I was working with coaches like Liz Yelling, then I transitioned to Keith Antoine. It’s about having a strong team around you, while keeping close to your roots, as I was still training in Loughborough and Nottingham.
I’m not a big fan of that self-gratification, but it’s nice that the people of Nottingham feel that they’ve got an association with what I do
You were given an MBE in 2013. What do you remember of the day it was presented to you and what does it mean to you?
I’m not a massive fan of titles, to be honest. It was a proud moment for my family, more than myself. We went to Buckingham Palace and were presented with my MBE from Prince Charles. Going to Buckingham Palace is something I don’t massively enjoy, because it’s not really me. I’d rather get it from a council house in Nottingham! But it’s nice to be recognised for the hard work I’ve done, and I feel like I deserve that reward because I’ve also done a lot of stuff away from the track.
As well as being recognised by the royals, your name has also been added to a Nottingham City Transport bus service. How does it feel to be honoured in this way by the city?
The bus drivers always wave to me! It’s nice to have that support. I’m not a big fan of that self-gratification, but it’s nice that the people of Nottingham feel that they’ve got an association with what I do, and I want to have a lasting impact and legacy. I’ve not got a tram named after me yet, though!
In the same year that you received your MBE, you launched ‘Richard Whitehead Runs Britain’. What inspired you to do this?
Winning at London 2012 was all about being able to do that, because without that platform it’s hard to get the traction. Terry Fox, a Canadian athlete, tried to run from the east to the west of Canada, a marathon a day. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to the finish, because he died of secondary sarcoma, and one of my friends, Simon Mellows, also died of sarcoma in 2005. I then became the patron of Sarcoma UK, one of the charities that was a beneficiary of the run, along with Scope, who provide support for people with disabilities. I wanted relevance around the disability community, while also supporting the charity that Simon had a lot of support from.
We can’t change the world by ourselves, so collaboration is key. It’s important to surround yourself with good people who have determination
You are also a motivational speaker at schools, sports clubs, and corporate and charity events. Is this something you are focused on at this point in your career and what does it feel like to be able to be a role model?
I think it’s a by-product of what you do. Role model is a word that people throw around. For me, if people can relate to what I say, then that’s great. If I’m talking to an audience, I try to relate to individuals. I also do a lot of humanitarian work, which I’m really passionate about, working across all intersectionality groups in the minority sector.
Finally, I was wondering what advice you would give your younger self or someone else who wants to compete in the Paralympics one day?
We can’t change the world by ourselves, so collaboration is key. It’s important to surround yourself with good people who have determination. One of my messages to disabled people is that it’s about patience and perseverance. Accept the role that you have within society as a resource, not as a barrier or an obstacle. Nottingham still has a way to go to service the disability community, and not everyone in the community will want to be Paralympians, but hopefully when they see what I’m doing, they will see how together, we can be better.
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