Nicholas Beighton (born 29 September 1981) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

paracanoeist and former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

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

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio de Janeiro.

Early life and education

Beighton was born in

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

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

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

where he attended Meole Brace School 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 The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

Career

Military service

Beighton joined the

and undertook his officer training 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 academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. 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 the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 16 June 2009. In October 2009, while on patrol in

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

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 buil ...

. 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 of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

. 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, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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, adjoining the Slovenian city of Bled. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by World Rowing Federatio ...

, 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 A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the fini ...

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) 21st-century English sportsmen