Nathan Stephens (born 11 April 1988) is a former

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

competing mainly in category F57-58 throwing events. He was until September 2012 the world record holder in the F57

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

Life and sports

Stephens was born in

Kenfig Hill Kenfig Hill ( cy, Mynydd Cynffig) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. It is bordered by Pyle to the south-west, Cefn Cribwr to the north-east, North Cornelly to the south and Moel Ton-Mawr mountain to the north. The nearest tr ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, South Wales. At the age of nine an accident on a railway line resulted in the loss of both of his legs. He started swimming for the Dragons Disabled Swimming Club before moving on to other sports. As a youth he joined the Cardiff Huskies

ice sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilita ...

team, which led to an interest in sport. He began competing in athletic competitions in 2003 at the age of 15, winning the gold in discus, javelin and shot put at the Junior British Championship. He continued his success into the senior field and at the age of 16 he broke the British senior record in all three throwing events. In 2006 he took part in his first Paralympics when he represented the Great Britain ice sledge hockey team at the 2006 Winter Paralympics, having represented the team at both the

2004 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 3rd International Paralympic Committee, IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships was held between April 13, 2004 and April 24, 2004 at Kempehallen in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Örnsköldsvik was also the host of the first 1976 Winter Paralympic ...

and the 2005 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships. Stephens competed in three events in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, finishing 11th in discus, 8th in shot put and 4th in the javelin. In 2011, Stephens won the gold at the Paralympic Athletics World Championships in New Zealand, recording a lifetime best of 39.11 metres in the javelin. He followed this up by recording a world record, at the Czech Athletics Open in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

, in the men's F57 javelin with a distance of 41.37 metres. In April 2012 he qualified in the javelin for 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 ...

and was selected by sponsors as an ambassador for the British team. Expectations were high for Stephens going into the games as World champion, but his throwing style was judged illegal and he was red flagged on his first two throws. His final throw was poor and he finished 10th in his event, failing to qualify for the final round. Stephens later complained that in the previous 2011 World Championships his action was deemed legal, and was deeply unhappy at the official's decision. The London games also saw him lose his world record to Brazilian athlete

Claudiney Batista dos Santos Claudiney Batista dos Santos (born 13 November 1978) is a Brazilian Paralympian athlete competing in category F57/T57 throwing events. He won a silver medal in the javelin throw at the 2012 Paralympics and a gold medal in the discus throw at the ...

, who recorded a distance of 45.38 metres.

Personal life

In 2012 he married Charlene Stephens, using prosthetics to dance with her and walk down the aisle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Nathan 1988 births Paralympic athletes of Great Britain Ice sledge hockey players at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Welsh male athletes British male discus throwers British male shot putters Living people Sportspeople from Bridgend Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Welsh amputees Welsh male javelin throwers Welsh male shot putters Welsh male discus throwers Welsh Paralympic competitors