John Charles Smith (born 27 November 1989), known professionally as JohnBoy Smith, is a British parathlete and wheelchair racer of Romany[1] descent who competes in the T54 category sprint events.[2]

Johnboy Smith
Personal information
Birth nameJohn Charles Smith
NationalityBritish
Born (1989-11-27) 27 November 1989 (age 34)
Gravesend, England
Sport
CountryGreat Britain / England
SportWheelchair Racing
DisabilityParaplegia
Disability classT10/T11
Event(s)T54 Marathon, Wheelchair Sprints
Medal record
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Men's T54 Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Men's T54 Marathon

Early life

edit

Smith was born in Gravesend, Kent, England. At age 16, he was mistaken for a poacher and shot in the back leading to a spinal cord injury that left him with complete T10/T11 paraplegia.[3] He got motivated to pursue para-athletics and wheelchair racing after watching 2012 London Paralympics.[4]

Career

edit

He won a silver medal in the T54 marathon of 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games held in Australia representing England.[4] He competed in 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan representing Great Britain in T54 marathon.[5][6] In 2022 Smith won a gold medal for England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the marathon (T54) event.[7]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Harle, Tom (6 September 2021). "Gravesend's JohnBoy Smith graps Paralympic debut with two hands in Tokyo". KentLive.news. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Johnboy Smith - Athletics". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ "London Marathon 2019: Johnboy Smith on why 'there is life after disability and tragedy'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Athletics SMITH Johnboy - Tokyo 2020 Paralympics". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Paralympics: JohnBoy Smith sets personal best to finish 10th". KentOnline.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  6. ^ "32 athletes added to ParalympicsGB athletics team for Tokyo 2020". paralympics.org.uk. British Paralympic Association.
  7. ^ "England's Smith wins marathon gold after Weir puncture". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
edit