James Muirhead (21 September 1953 - 17 October 2021) was a British Paralympic swimmer who won thirteen medals at the

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

. His Paralympic debut was at the

1976 Summer Paralympics The 1976 Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 1976), branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 4 t ...

where he won two gold medals and two silvers. Muirhead repeated that feat in Arnhem for the 1980 Games, albeit in different events. He returned from the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

with a fifth gold, another silver, and three bronze medals. Muirhead lost his sight at age 17. He qualified and worked as a physiotherapist. He died of cancer in October 2021. He is still the most decorated Scottish paralympic swimmer of all time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, James 1953 births Living people Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain British blind people Place of birth missing (living people) Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain British physiotherapists Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Paralympics British male freestyle swimmers British male backstroke swimmers British male butterfly swimmers 20th-century British people