From Cambridge to Rio: One man’s extraordinary year of inclusive sport
When the idea first landed, it sounded like something from a dream, or perhaps a dare. Could John, a man with no hands and no knees, take on every category of Paralympic sport in the run-up to the Rio Games? It wasn’t just about trying them. It would mean competing, adapting and in some cases, completely reinventing the equipment.
The seed was planted in 2015. With the Rio Paralympics approaching, someone floated the suggestion of a fundraiser. John was intrigued. He’d already completed a triathlon, but this was different, bigger, bolder. The Paralympics list contained more than forty events. That was too many, but the idea of doing one sport from each discipline stuck. The final list came to thirty-four sports, from swimming and athletics to boxing, judo, riding and archery.
Gearing up
The challenge began in a Cambridge prosthetics clinic, where the engineers became part of the adventure. Could they create a device that would let him hold a racket or a paddle? The first breakthrough was a clamp arm that could grip a tennis racket. From there, came specialised kit for archery, rowing and kayaking, all made possible thanks to a grant from the John Stewart Memorial Fund.
Starting the challenge
Organisation was key. The team contacted national governing bodies, booked venues, and found coaches willing to think differently. Cambridge City Council offered table tennis tables in public spaces, and John made an event of it outside the Kelsey Kerridge swimming pool, playing a friendly match against Connor Schwartz. At Cambridge United FC, halftime entertainment took the form of a football challenge: kick a ball into a skip to earn a £500 donation from a local sponsor. John’s shot missed by just six inches – but the sponsor, impressed by the effort, donated the money anyway.
Celebrating the familiar and learning new disciplines
Some events came naturally. Swimming was a lifelong love, so John decided to make it harder for himself: swimming every Paralympic distance in one day, from 50 metres to 1,500, finishing with a splash at Jesus Green Lido and a celebratory party. Others were far less comfortable. Diving from a three-metre board was exhilarating but terrifying, his brain screaming don’t do it even as his body leapt. Check out the short video below to see how incredibly brave John was…
Athletics posed its own hurdles!! Running and jumping were impossible, so the focus turned to throwing events. Shot put and javelin proved awkward given John has no grip. So it all boiled down to the hammer throw, an Olympic, but not Paralympic, event. Using his right arm and elbow inside the handle, John spun one and a half times and let it fly. Under the guidance of national coach Nick Shortland, he qualified as a guest at the U16 National Championships, setting a personal best of 13.45 metres.
Rowing was a return to familiar waters!! John had once been a cox at Cambridge, but this time, without knees or the ability to feather the blades, it meant rowing “square blades”. The technique was harder, the risk of hitting the water greater, but John proved he could adapt and still pull his weight in the boat.
Tennis, though, was a revelation. At Bisham Abbey, Paralympic performance head Geryt gave John his first lesson and his first criticism: “I don’t like your grip.” With adjustments to the equipment and style, John found himself invited to the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships, paired with none other than Dylan Alcott for an exhibition match. The crowd buzzed, the match was electric, and although Dylan’s first serve rocketed past him, John remembers the joy of simply being on court with a world-class player.
Not every sport was a match made in heaven. In taekwondo, John was exactly the right height to be kicked in the head, and with no leg to return the favour, the experience was brief and bruising. But he completed the challenge!
Horse riding, however, felt like coming home, a nod to his family’s equestrian background. Completing a dressage test and staying in the saddle earned him a rosette and a proud smile.
Looking back, John marvels at the sheer amount of organisation, the goodwill from coaches and clubs and the adaptations that made each sport possible. More than just a personal challenge, the Road2Rio showed the sporting world what true inclusion can look like. For some sports, it was the first time they had thought seriously about how to make their events accessible.
By the end of the year, the challenge had raised £15,000 for our charity, dedicated to ensuring that no one is left on the bench. And more than that, it had proven, to John, to the team, and to everyone who followed the journey, that with imagination, determination, and the right support, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
If you would like to support us in our mission to “embed inclusive sport in the sporting, education and community landscapes” then we would love to hear from you. We are always looking out for people willing to fundraise for Power2Inspire through their own inspiring means. Or, you could volunteer at one of our events, or you could give to the ongoing work of Power2Inspire. Click the button here to find out more.
