Nicholas Beighton (born 29 September 1981) is a British paracanoeist and former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. Beighton took up rowing as part of the rehabilitation programme after losing his legs during active service. He competed in the mixed scull with partner Samantha Scowen at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London. He subsequently switched to the paracanoe discipline and won the bronze medal in the Men's KL2 canoe sprint at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio de Janeiro.

Early life and education

Beighton was born in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, England in 1981. At the age of seven his family moved to

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

where he attended

Meole Brace School Meole Brace School is a coeducational secondary school in the suburb of Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, England. It is one of two state-funded secondary schools in South Shrewsbury and serves a wide catchment area which includes Meole Brace, areas of B ...

and later

Shrewsbury Sixth Form College Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a post-secondary co-educational sixth-form college located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The college currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,650 students, generally ranging between ...

before matriculating to

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

Career

Military service

Beighton joined the

and undertook his

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

. On 16 December 2000, he was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

with seniority from 13 December 2005. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 16 June 2009. In October 2009, while on patrol in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, Beighton stood on an improvised explosive device. His life was saved by an Army Medic, who kept him stable before being taken to medical facilities in

Camp Bastion Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former British Army airbase, located northwest of the city of Lashkargah in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was built ...

. Beighton was placed in a medically induced coma and required 36 pints of blood during his initial treatment. Although his life was saved he lost both his legs in the attack.

Sporting career

In February 2010, Beighton attended a Paralympic talent identification day at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

. It was there that he became aware that the British Paralympic squad were looking for a male Trunk and Arms rower. He first

scull Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...

ed in July 2010 at Guildford Rowing Club as part of the rehabilitation programme at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre. In April 2011, Beighton joined the Great Britain rowing team, and in May he was paired with Sam Scowen in the TA mixed Double Scull at the world cup in Munich. They finished third to take the bronze. In August, Beighton travelled to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

to compete in the

2011 World Rowing Championships The 2011 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 August to 4 September 2011 at Lake Bled in the Slovenian city of Bled. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by World Rowing Federation Worl ...

, where he and Scowen finished 6th. In 2011, Beighton and Scowen were the first rowers to qualify for the

in London. They finished fourth at the London 2012 Paralympics, on the losing end of a photo finish for the bronze medal. Beighton subsequently became a member of the British paracanoe squad and competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro where he won the bronze medal in the Men's KL2 canoe sprint.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beighton, Nick 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Stockport English male rowers British male canoeists Paralympic rowers for Great Britain Paralympic canoeists for Great Britain Paralympic medalists in paracanoe Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Rowers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Alumni of the University of Sheffield Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)