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Peter Robert Norfolk OBE (born 13 December 1960) is a British
wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, ...
player. Following a motorbike accident which left him paraplegic, he uses a wheelchair. He took up tennis and following a further spinal complication in 2000, he began competing in the quad division. He is nicknamed The Quadfather. He has multiple Grand Slam and Super Series titles, and competed for Great Britain at the Summer Paralympics when tennis made its first appearance at Athens 2004. He won the gold medal in the singles, and defended it at
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, as well as adding a bronze medal in the doubles. He competed in his third Paralympics in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
in London, where he was also the flagbearer for Great Britain at the opening ceremony.


Early life

Norfolk was born in London on 13 December 1960. Norfolk became a paraplegic after motorbike accident in 1979 at the age of 19. He was hospitalised for over a year, and the disability resulted in him requiring a wheelchair. There was a further complication in 2000, damage was caused to
cervical spinal nerve 7 The cervical spinal nerve 7 (C7) is a spinal nerve of the cervical segment.American Medical Association
resulted in Norfolk additionally losing strength in his right arm and shoulder.


Tennis career

Norfolk became a
wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, ...
player at the age of 30, having seen a demonstration at
Stoke Mandeville Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (4.9 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil p ...
. He competes in the quad division. This means he competes against other players with a disability in at least three limbs. He plays with a tennis racket taped to his hand, and competes in the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour. He was the first person ever to win a Paralympic medal for Britain in tennis when he took gold in the quads singles at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, defeating David Wagner of the United States. It had been the first occasion where a tennis event had been included in a Paralympic programme. He also won a silver medal with Mark Eccleston in the quad doubles event. Following his victories, in 2005 he was invited to perform the
coin toss A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
ahead of the men's singles final at Wimbledon. He represented
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
again at 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 ...
in Beijing, winning gold in the singles event and bronze in doubles with Jamie Burdekin. He sees the defeat in the semi final as the biggest disappointment in his tennis career. In the 2010 season, he missed out on finishing overall as world number one by eight ranking points, despite winning the end of season Wheelchair Masters tournament. He beat Wagner 6–3, 7–6 (7–4), but his opponent ended the season one place above him in the rankings. Wagner beat him at the 2011 Australian Open, marking the first occasion Norfolk had been defeated in an Australian Open final, having previously defeated Wagner in on four occasions in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010. It did however mark the first occasion that Norfolk had won a doubles tournament in Australia, partnered with
Andrew Lapthorne Andrew David Lapthorne (born 11 October 1990) is a British wheelchair tennis player. He took up wheelchair tennis in 2005, and entered the quad division in 2008. He is active in both singles and doubles tournaments, and has 13 multiple grand s ...
. He regained the Australian Open title in 2012, beating Wagner in the final and becoming world number one once more. It marked his fifth victory at the grand slam tournament. He was also victorious once more in the doubles, teaming with Lapthorne again to defeat Wagner and his partner Noam Gershony. He carried the torch in Liverpool during the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay. He was the winner of both the singles and the doubles events in the pre-Paralympic test event at
Eton Manor Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Great ...
in May 2012. On 19 June 2012 was named once more to the British squad for the Paralympics, to compete at
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. He is one of three men's quad division tennis players, alongside Burdekin and Lapthorne. He admitted that the Games placed a great deal of pressure on his performance saying, "This year is about the Paralympics and everyone is expecting me to win, so it will be my year to see where I'm at." In the event, he did not win a medal in the singles, losing his quarter-final match to
Shraga Weinberg Shraga Weinberg (born 25 March 1966 in Petach Tiqva) is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player. Weinberg was born in 1966, paralyzed in his upper body. He also has bone density abnormalities, which caused him to go through many surgeries in his y ...
, but won silver in the doubles, again partnered with Andrew Lapthorne. Norfolk has multiple Super Series titles. He has finished the year as world number one on five occasions, and won the Team World Cup three times. He has a rivalry with Wagner, with the two swapping the number one and number two ranked positions in the quad division on a regular basis. Norfolk was awarded the Carl Aarvold Award for International Achievement by the
Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...
in 2012. Norfolk was voted to carry the British flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London.


Personal life

In 1989, Peter founded a company called Equipment for the Physically Challenged, which specialises in mobility equipment for physically disabled disabled people. He is married to a sports physiotherapist named Linda, and has two children. He was named a
Member of the Most Excellent 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
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, and an
Officer 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 ...
(OBE) in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, in both cases for services to disabled sport. He uses tennis rackets from
Prince Sports Prince Global Sports, LLC is an American sporting goods manufacturing company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1970, Prince's range of products includes rackets, footwear, apparel, tennis balls, pickleball paddles, stringing machines, hats a ...
, and his sports wheelchair is by Quickie Matchpoint.


Grand Slam titles

;Singles * 2007 US Open * 2008 Australian Open * 2009 Australian Open * 2007 US Open * 2010 Australian Open *
2012 Australian Open The 2012 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 16 to 29 January 2012. It was the 100th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournamen ...
;Doubles * 2008 French Open * 2011 Australian Open *
2012 Australian Open The 2012 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 16 to 29 January 2012. It was the 100th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournamen ...
*
2012 French Open The 2012 French Open (also known as Roland Garros, after the famous French aviator) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 116th edition of the French Open, and took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 27 May until 11 ...


References

;General * * ;Specific


External links

* *
'The Quadfather'
Peter Norfolk's Official Website *
EPC Wheelchairs
Peter Norfolk's UK-Based Wheelchair company {{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk, Peter 1960 births Living people British male tennis players British wheelchair tennis players Paralympic wheelchair tennis players of Great Britain Paralympic medalists in wheelchair tennis Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Wheelchair tennis players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Officers of the Order of the British Empire Tennis people from Greater London ITF number 1 ranked wheelchair tennis players