Danielle Brown MBE (born 10 April 1988) is a British competitive archer and award winning children's author. She has competed in the Paralympic Games winning gold medals in Beijing and London and has also won medals shooting in the able bodied category including the Commonwealth Games. She was born in Steeton,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

."Ones to watch in Delhi: Danielle Brown"
BBC, 4 October 2010

Career

Her first international competitive event was at the European Archery Championships (for athletes with disabilities) in

Nymburk Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

in 2006. She reached the semi-finals of the Compound Bow Open Class event, and was defeated by Gulbin Su of Turkey. She lost the bronze medal match to fellow British competitor Melanie Clarke.Athlete results: Melanie Brown
, International Paralympic Committee – Archery She then took part in the IPC World Archery Championships in

Cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the one where Sangdang Sanseong is ...

in 2007. Competing in the Compound Bow Open Class event, she won gold with a score of 114 points (defeating Gulbin Su 116–107 in the semi-final, and Wang Li of China 114–108 in the final). She was also part of the British women's team which won gold in the team event in the Compound Bow Open Class, defeating Japan 221–199 in the final. In 2008, Brown won silver (beaten by Gulbin Su in the final) in the Invitation Disabled Archery Event in Stoke Mandeville, then competed at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, where she won gold in the Women's individual compound, defeating Wang in the quarter-finals, Clarke in the semis, and

Chieko Kamiya Chieko (written: , , , , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese sprint canoeist *, blind Japanese computer scientist *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese voice actress and singer *, Japanes ...

of Japan in the final (112–98). In 2009, she won a second successive individual gold medal, and a team gold, at the IPC World Archery Championships, followed in 2010 by three successive individual gold medals: at the Arizona Cup, at the Stoke Mandeville World Invitational Disabled Archery Competition, and at the

European Para-Archery Championships The European Para-Archery Championships is a competition for European disabled archers. Editions Medal table Results 2010 (Vichy) 2014 ( Nottwil) 129 archers from 24 countries participated. 2016 (Saint-Jean-de-Monts Saint-Jean-de-Monts ( ...

. She represented England in archery at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, having qualified "after a two-day selection shoot in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

in June where she finished second behind world number one

Nicky Hunt Nicholas Brett Hunt (born 3 September 1983) is an English footballer who plays for and is first-team coach of club Ashton United. He is best known for his spell at Bolton Wanderers at the beginning of his career. Originally a right-back, he co ...

". She was "the first Paralympian to represent England in an able-bodied event at the Games", though cyclist

Sarah Storey Dame Sarah Joanne Storey, (née Bailey; born 26 October 1977) is a British Paralympic athlete in cycling and swimming, and a multiple gold medalist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion (2 × Purs ...

(who won two gold medals in cycling at the 2008 Paralympics) also competed against able-bodied athletes a few days later. She won a gold medal in the Women's Team Compound event, beating Canada 232–229 alongside team-mates

and Nichola Simpson. In 2011, she won an additional individual gold medal at the IPC World Championships in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, followed by two silver medals in the women's team event and the mixed team event. In 2012, she won her second successive Paralympic Games gold medal, beating GB teammate Mel Clarke in the final at the Royal Artillery Barracks, London. That year she also won the Indoor World Cup in Nimes and got a silver medal at the World Cup Finals in Tokyo, both in the able-bodied category. Brown 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

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 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 celebrat ...

for services to archery. She is also one of many athletes to have had a postbox painted gold after the London Paralympics On 1 September 2013 Brown won the able-bodied British title with victory at the Archery GB National Series finals in Nottingham. She beat Lucy O'Sullivan 142–141 in the compound final. In November 2013, World Archery announced that Brown would not be able to compete in Para-Archery contests (such as the 2016 Olympics) in the future as her disability did not have a direct and important impact on her archery performance. She appealed the ruling, but it was upheld in favour of World Archery. As of 1 April 2014, she is unable to compete in Para-Archery. Brown competed at the 2015 able-bodied World Championships in Copenhagen. In 2017 she appeared on ''

Christmas University Challenge ''Christmas University Challenge'' is a British quiz programme which has aired on BBC Two since 2011. It is a spin-off from University Challenge that airs daily over the Christmas period, and features teams of noteworthy alumni from British u ...

'' on a team representing

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_label ...

Personal life

Brown has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in her feet, and competes sitting down on a stool. She was, at the time of the 2008 Paralympics, a law student at

, and subsequently achieved first class honours. She was given an honorary degree of Doctors of Laws from the University of Leicester on Friday 25 January 2013 On 19 September 2013 Leicester University named the Danielle Brown Sports Centre after her. On 22 September 2013 Brown was made a Freewoman of the district of Craven and on 1 July 2014 Brown was given the Freedom of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. In 2019, Brown was inducted into the British University and College Sport's Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

*''Collins GCSE Revision Study Skills'' (2015) *''Be Your Best Self - Life Skills For Unstoppable Kids'' (2019) *''Run Like A Girl - 50 Extraordinary And Inspiring Sportswomen'' (2021) *''One Hundred Reasons To Hope'' (2021), curated on behalf of

Captain Tom Moore Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th b ...

Achievements

;2006 :4th, European Para Championships, individual,

;2007 : IPC World Championships, individual,

: IPC World Championships, women's team,

;2008 : World Invitational Disabled Competition, individual, Stoke Mandeville : Summer Paralympics, individual, Beijing ;2009 : IPC World Championships, women's team,

: IPC World Championships, individual,

:12th,

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

, individual, Belgrade ;2010 : Arizona Cup, individual,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

: Arizona Cup, mixed team,

: Arizona Cup, women's team,

: World Invitational Disabled Competition, individual, Stoke Mandeville : European Para Championships, individual,

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, women's team,

: World Cup, women's team, Shanghai ;2011 : IPC World Championships, individual,

: IPC World Championships, women's team,

: IPC World Championships, mixed team,

;2012 : Nimes Indoor World Cup – able bodied, Nimes, France : Arizona Cup, women's team,

: World Cup, mixed team, Shanghai : 2012 Summer Paralympics, individual, London : World Cup Final – able bodied, individual, Tokyo ;2013 : UK National Series Champion, able-bodied,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

4th World Championships, women's team, able-bodied,

Belek Belek is a township in the Serik district in Turkey's Antalya Province. The local population in 2022 is 73,260. Belek is one of the centers of Turkey's tourism industry and is home to more than thirty four-star and five-star hotels and many ...

: IPC World Championships, individual,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...