Paralympic gold medallist to share his inspirational story (From Thurrock Gazette)

Paralympic gold medallist to share his inspirational story

1:42pm Monday 10th September 2012 in News

PARALYMPIC gold medallist Danny Crates will be sharing his inspirational story with theatre goers on Wednesday, September 26.

The retired athlete, who was born and raised in Thurrock, will be giving a free talk at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch about how he overcame adversity after losing his arm in a horrific car crash.
 

A spokesman for the theatre said: “Danny Crates takes audiences through his amazing journey from being a typical Essex lad to the horrific car crash which changed his life.

“He lost an arm, but instead of being defeated, Danny defied all the odds, becoming a world-class Paralympic athlete and going on to win a gold medal.

“The evening also includes excerpts from his book Danny Boy, read by local children.”

Danny lost his right arm while he was out in Australia in 1993, when he returned home he wasn’t sure how to carry on with his life.
 

Eventually, he decided to start playing rugby again, a game that had been his passion before the accident.

Despite his disability, his beloved Thurrock Rugby Club were incredibly supportive, and Danny went on to score three tries in his first match back.
 

The match was featured by the BBC’s Rugby Special programme, and his achievement soon came to the attention of UK Athletics, who contacted Danny and asked him to start training as an athlete.

Danny resisted at first, but eventually agreed to give it ago, and the rest is history.

His glittering career saw him win a bronze in the 400m at the Sydney Paralympics, and claim gold four years later in the 800m at Athens.

Injury prevented him from defending his title at Beijing, but he was thrilled to have the honour of carrying the British flag at the opening ceremony.

Although he retired soon afterwards, Danny became an ambassador for the London 2012 bid team and also works for the BBC and Channel 4, reporting on the Olympics and Paralympics.

Danny’s talk will begin at 8pm at the theatre, on Wednesday, September 26.

For more information, visit www.dannycrates.co.uk .