Stephen Murray (born 9 January 1980) is an English former

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

Dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

rider.

Biography

On Friday 22 June 2007, at the AST Dew Tour BMX Dirt Finals in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Murray took a catastrophic fall attempting a double backflip on the final jump in the dirt section. He suffered career-ending injuries to his

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

and

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

, and became

paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

below the shoulders. Reports have shown that he can shrug his shoulders, move his toes, his index fingers, and his thumbs. Murray was a seven-time expert British champion and six-time UK National champion before the age of 16. During his professional BMX career, he was known for his double back flips (the first rider to land in competition), 360 back flips, and turndown back flips. He won the gold medal in BMX Dirt in the Summer 2001

X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...

and won gold medals in BMX Dirt at the

Gravity Games The Gravity Games was a multi-sport competition originating in Providence, Rhode Island that was broken down into Winter (only held in 2000) and Summer (held from 1999 to 2006) adaptations. The competition featured a variety of extreme sports su ...

in back-to-back years (2001 and 2002). He was nominated for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'BMX rider of the year'. Since the accident, Murray worked closely with the doctor who treated

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...

after the actor's accident left him quadriplegic. He now has limited movement in his toes and is also gaining more movements in his hands. He hopes to move to a hand-operated wheelchair in the future. He is no longer married, but has full custody of his two sons. He resides in Evesham, England. Murray appeared on the ''True Geordie Podcast'' to talk openly about his experience, and the journey of his life. His motivations and dealing with the crash were explored as well. In 2017, he published a book about his life: ''Staying Strong: An Immensely Human Story'' (with John F. McDonald, Lee Martin).

ESPN

*BMX Rider of the Year

BMX Championships

*Seven-time expert British champion *Six-time UK National champion

X Games competition history

Gravity Games

References

External links

Online photo-biography
British BMX riders English male cyclists British male cyclists 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne 21st-century English sportsmen {{England-cycling-bio-stub