Great Britain at the Paralympics

Great Britain at the Paralympics
Flag of the United Kingdom
IPC code	GBR
NPC	British Paralympic Association
Website	www.paralympics.org.uk
Medals Ranked 2nd	Gold 626 Silver 584 Bronze 579 Total 1,789
Summer appearances
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
Winter appearances
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018

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.^[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.^[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.

Medal tables

*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Medals by Summer Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank Overall medals 1960 Rome 53 20 15 20 55 2 2 1964 Tokyo 39 18 23 20 61 2 2 1968 Tel Aviv 75 29 20 20 69 2 2 1972 Heidleberg 72 16 15 21 52 3 3 1976 Toronto 87 29 29 36 94 5 3 1980 Arnhem 96 47 32 21 100 5 5 1984 Stoke Mandeville 227 107 112 112 331 2 2 1988 Seoul 231 65 65 53 183 3 3 1992 Barcelona 209 40 47 41 128 3 3 1996 Atlanta 248 39 42 41 122 3 3 2000 Sydney 215 41 43 47 131 2 2 2004 Athens 167 35 30 29 94 2 3 2008 Beijing 212 42 29 31 102 2 2 2012 London 288 34 43 43 120 3 2 2016 Rio de Janeiro 265 64 39 44 147 2 2 2020 Tokyo future event 2024 Paris future event 2028 Los Angeles future event Total 626 584 579 1789 2 2

Medals by Winter Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank Overall medals 1976 Örnsköldsvik 6 0 0 0 0 - - 1980 Geilo ? 0 0 0 0 - - 1984 Innsbruck 22 0 4 6 10 12 10 1988 Innsbruck ? 0 0 0 0 - - 1992 Tignes-Albertville 15 0 1 4 5 15 13 1994 Lillehammer 23 0 0 5 5 21 18 1998 Nagano 31 0 0 0 0 - - 2002 Salt Lake City 2 0 0 0 0 - - 2006 Turin 20 0 1 0 1 17 17 2010 Vancouver 12 0 0 0 0 - - 2014 Sochi 12 1 3 2 6 10 10 2018 PyeongChang 17 1 4 2 7 13 11 2022 Beijing Future event Total 2 13 19 34 25 18

(Last updated: 19 March 2018)

Multi medalists

Athletes in bold are still active

Summer Paralympics

Summer Paralympic multi medalists

Athletes who have won more than 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	Robin Surgeoner	Swimming	1984 - 1988	M	9	0	0	9
9	Robert Matthews	Athletics	1984 - 2004	M	8	4	1	13
10	Sophie Christiansen	Equestrian	2004 - 2016	F	8	1	1	10
11	James Anderson	Swimming	1992 - 2012	M	6	9	2	17
12	Valerie Robertson	Archery Athletics Swimming Wheelchair fencing	1964 - 1976	F	6	4	2	12
13	Dick Thompson	Athletics Wheelchair basketball	1960 - 1968	M	6	3	6	15
14	Darren Kenny	Cycling	2004 - 2012	M	6	3	1	10
15	David Weir	Athletics	2004 - 2016	M	6	2	2	10
16	Janice Burton	Swimming	1984 - 1996	F	5	10	5	20
17	James Muirhead	Swimming	1976 - 1984	M	5	5	3	13
18	Barbara Anderson	Archery Swimming Table tennis	1960 - 1972	F	5	2	0	7
	David Ellis	Swimming	1964 - 1972	M	5	2	0	7
20	Ellie Simmonds	Swimming	2008 - 2016	M	5	1	2	8
21	Anne Dunham	Equestrian	1996 - 2008	F	5	1	1	7
22	Colin Keay	Athletics	1984 - 1988	M	5	1	0	6
23	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
26	Margaret Maughan	Archery Dartchery Lawn bowls Swimming	1960 - 1980	F	4	2	0	6
	Deborah Criddle	Equestrian	2004 - 2012	F	4	2	0	6
28	Caroline Innes	Athletics	1992 - 2000	F	4	1	0	5
29	James Crisp	Swimming	2000 - 2012	M	3	6	3	12
30	Margaret McEleny	Swimming	1992 - 2004	F	3	5	7	15
31	Jeanette Chippington	Swimming Paracanoe	1988 - 2004, 2016	F	3	4	6	13
32	Nigel Coultas	Athletics	1988 - 1992	M	3	4	0	7
33	Stephen Payton	Athletics	1996 - 2008	M	3	2	4	9
34	Nicola Tustain	Equestrian	2000 - 2004	F	3	0	3	6
35	Kenny Churchill	Athletics	1992 - 2008	M	3	0	2	5
36	Peter Hull	Swimming	1988 - 1992	M	3	0	0	3
37	Martin Mansell	Swimming	1984 - 1988	M	2	5	1	8

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 -82kg	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

See also

• Great Britain at the Olympics

References

Wikinews has related news: Preparedness for 2012 Paralympic Games differs between National Paralympic Committees