Aaron David Phipps (born 7 April 1983) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US na ...

player and gold medal-winning paralympian. He is part of the

Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team The Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team represents Great Britain in international wheelchair rugby. Great Britain is the most successful team in European competition, winning six gold medals at the European Championship and a gold at t ...

and competed in

Wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held in the Basketball Arena, London from 5 September to 9 September. There was one event where 8 teams competed. Though a mixed gender event the vast majority of competitors at the games wer ...

in London and in at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics where the team won the gold medal final on the 29th August 2021.

Biography

On 7 January 1999 Aaron contracted Meningitis C. and Meningococcal sepsis. As a result of this illness Aaron was in a controlled coma for 2 weeks. Following this, in March, it was required that his legs and most of his fingers be amputated. In total Aaron spent a year in hospital, receiving treatment and recovering. In 2007 Aaron began to get involved in wheelchair races and raised money for a Meningitis charity by completing a 10 km race in Totton. He has also completed 2

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

s (2008 & 2009) and in 2009 was ranked 4th UK Male in both the London Marathon and the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. On 23 May 2016 Phipps became the first disabled British person to scale Mount Kilimanjaro During large parts of the ascent Phipps was forced to climb on his hands and knees because the wheelchair wasn't capable of traversing the difficult terrain but was able to complete the climb without any assistance. He was told that he had to be carried up the mountain, but he refused. When climbing the mountain it took twice the time it was predicted to take. On the third day, the wheelchair wasn't capable of traversing up the mountain anymore and so Aaron decided to use knee pads in order to be able to reach the top, with his father carrying the wheelchair. Phipps was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to wheelchair rugby.

References

External links

BBC profileUK-Paralympics profileOfficial website
1983 births Living people Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Great Britain Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Wheelchair rugby players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Wheelchairrugby-bio-stub