Zak Skinner (born 16 October 1998) is a British

Paralympic athlete The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer Paralympic Games, Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports a ...

, who competes in the 100m and long jump in the T13 classification.

Career

Skinner grew up in

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge an ...

. He was born completely blind before gaining some sight at the age of two. He is coached by

Aston Moore :''For the actor, see Ashleigh Aston Moore''. Aston Llewellyn Moore (born 8 February 1956) is a male Jamaican-born former track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain, specialising in the triple jump event. He competed at the 1976 S ...

. Skinner's first accolades came in 2016, winning gold medals in the IPC England 100m, 200m and long jump in the age-groups categories, and winning gold and bronze in the senior long jump and 400m, respectively. In 2017, Skinner came 4th in the T13 long jump at the World Para Athletics Championships in London. He followed this success with a silver medal in the long jump, and 4th place in the 100m, at the 2018 European Para Championships. In 2021, Skinner took his first gold medal on the international stage, winning the 100m at the World Para Athletics Championships in Bydgoczcz. He was subsequently selected to represent Team GB at the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, in the T13 long jump and 100m. In 2023, he won the bronze medal in the men's long jump T13 event at the

World Para Athletics Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

held in Paris, France. At the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

, Skinner placed 4th in the

Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and 6th in the 100 metres in the T13 classification.

Personal life

Skinner has

ocular albinism Ocular albinism is a form of albinism which, in contrast to oculocutaneous albinism, presents primarily in the eyes. There are multiple forms of ocular albinism, which are clinically similar.James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). ' ...

, a genetic condition that affects vision. He is the son of former England rugby player Mickey Skinner. Away from athletics, Skinner is a DJ.

References

People with albinism 1998 births People from Tonbridge and Malling (district) British male long jumpers Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Sportspeople from Kent Paralympic athletes for Great Britain British disabled sportspeople English male long jumpers Paralympic long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics 21st-century English sportsmen {{UK-sport-bio-stub