Peter Maurice Hull,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 6 December 1965 in Paris, France) is a British

Paralympic 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 ...

gold medalist.

Early life

Peter Hull was born in France to English parents. He was born without legs and with arms ending at the elbow. From a young age he attended

Chailey Heritage School Chailey Heritage School is a special school located in North Chailey, East Sussex, England. It is owned and operated by the Chailey Heritage Foundation. The school is for children and young adults, aged between 3 and 19, with complex physical ...

in Sussex. In his teens he was a boarder at the Hephaistos School, Arborfield, Berkshire. He studied leisure and sport at

Farnborough College of Technology Farnborough College of Technology is a college located in the town of Farnborough, Hampshire in the South East of England. Although primarily a further education college, Farnborough College of Technology also has a University Centre (Universit ...

Sporting career

Swimming

Peter Hull began swimming regularly at the age of 5. In 1975, aged 9, he won a gold medal in his first gala at the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BSAD) National Championships 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 ...

(though he was the only swimmer in his classification). Later he became National Junior and Senior Short Course Champion in 25, 50 and 100m backstroke and freestyle. * 1988 he was a member of the British Swim Team for the Seoul Paralympics (Four 4th places) * 1991 - Winner of three Gold medals in the 50m backstroke, 50m and 100m freestyle at the Disabled European Swimming Championships * 1992 - Winner of three Gold medals (all with World Records) at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics in the 50m backstroke and freestyle and 100m freestyle * 1994 - British Swim Team Captain - winners of the Disability World Swimming Championships * 1995 - Member of British Swim Team - winners of the Disability European Swimming Championships * 2001 – Swam in the IPC European Swimming Championships,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Marathons

Hull has completed 12 full marathons, including the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

6 times, and 18 half marathons. In the process he raised money for the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BSAD)

Personal life

Peter was the subject of

Marc Quinn Marc Quinn (born 8 January 1964) is a British contemporary visual artist whose work includes sculpture, installation, and painting. Quinn explores "what it is to be human in the world today" through subjects including the body, genetics, ident ...

's sculpture in white marble ''Peter Hull'' (1999), now at the

Groninger Museum The Groninger Museum () is an art museum in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The museum exhibits modern and contemporary art of local, national, and international artists. The museum opened in 1874. The current post-modernist building co ...

He appeared as an extra, 'Lofty', in

Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and ...

's ''Changing Step'' (BBC Scotland 1990) television play, directed by Richard Wilson, about a World War I amputee who falls in love with a nurse. In the

1991 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1991 for the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, were announced on 14 June 19 ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the 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) for services to sport for the disabled. In 1985 he was named one of The Times Men of the Year, along with

Terry Waite Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author. Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he ...

and

Simon Weston Simon Weston (born 8 August 1961) is a Welsh veteran of the British Army who is known for his charity work and recovery from severe burn injuries suffered during the Falklands War. Early life Weston was born at Caerphilly District Miners Hos ...

and others.''The Times'', 7 November 1985, p.32 - Nine Men of the Year are honoured at Savoy lunch Peter Hull is County Development Officer for Disability Sport at Hampshire County Council. He is President of the Rushmoor Mallards disability sports club and sits on the committee (and is former chair) of the

Jubilee Sailing Trust Jubilee Sailing Trust is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which owns and until 2019 operated two square-rigged three-masted barques, the STS ''Lord Nelson'' and the SV ''Tenacious''. Aims The Jubilee Sailing Trust, based in So ...

. Peter Hull took up wheelchair rugby in 2012 and is currently chair of Team Solent Sharks Wheelchair Rugby Club, based at

Solent University Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...

Early life

Sporting career

Swimming

Marathons

Personal life

References

External links