Chat with Paralympic hero Richard Whitehead today!

Sam_Alumni

We’re really excited to have World record holder, Paralympic gold and world champion athlete Richard Whitehead join us for Facebook LIVE today at 2pm.

We’d love for you to join us, as we talk about the impact and legacy of the Paralympics five years on from London 2012, why he thinks #SportForAll is so important, his career highlights, including his world record and 9 gold medals! 

In addition to this, we’d love for you to get involved by commenting and asking questions below and Richard will have some time today to log on to the community and also answer some of your questions on here too!

Sport For All aims to encourage better representation of disability in sport, as well as challenging attitudes towards disability.

You can expect new research, blogs, videos and social media events. These will showcase some of the best athletes and storytellers involved in disability sport today. Take a look at our blog about Sport For All here.

Ask your questions below and Richard will be along later to answer and chat with the community!

coraeb

Hi Richard! So excited you're at Scope! Can I ask two questions? 

What is your favourite memory of the paralympics in 2012? 

Also what would be the one thing you would change for disabled people in Britain in 2017? 

Vicky1987

Hi Richard! How do you think we can further raise the profile of Paralympic sports in this country?

RichardWhitehead

coraeb said:

Hi Richard! So excited you're at Scope! Can I ask two questions? 

What is your favourite memory of the paralympics in 2012? 

Also what would be the one thing you would change for disabled people in Britain in 2017? 

Thanks for your questions Cora!

My favorite memory was in 2012 when I looked up in the crowd to see wave of British Union flags and so many families supporting me and British sport at the Paralympics.

The one thing I would change for disabled people in Britain today is to ensure that there is equal opportunities for everybody, regardless of disability, race, gender and so on, because everybody deserves everyday equality. 

 

RichardWhitehead

Vicky1987 said:

Hi Richard! How do you think we can further raise the profile of Paralympic sports in this country?

Great Question, thanks Vicky!

I think there should be more opportunities within mainstream sport for disabled athletes and we should use the athletes as role models to spread messages and encourage more opportunities. #SportForAll! 

Sam_Alumni

Hi @RichardWhitehead  thanks so much for being here! How would you encourage young, disabled people into sport?

Liam_Alumni

Hi Richard! So great to have you at Scope.

How easy do you think it is for young disabled people to get into sport following the 2012 Paralympics? Are there any barriers still, and how big are they?

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RichardWhitehead

Sam_Scope said:

Hi @RichardWhitehead  thanks so much for being here! How would you encourage young, disabled people into sport?

Hi Sam,

Glad to be here and support #SportForAll! Thanks for the question.

I'd say, try as many different disability sports and activities as you can but also try opportunities that are provided where social and economic opportunities are already removed to help make it easier when starting out. 

RichardWhitehead

LiamO_Dell said:

Hi Richard! So great to have you at Scope.

How easy do you think it is for young disabled people to get into sport following the 2012 Paralympics? Are there any barriers still, and how big are they?

Hi Liam,

Interesting question!

Young people have now been provided with the inspiration to get into sport but there are still a lot of barriers and obstacles to overcome for them to access sport. Specifically... equipment, transport, access, training, coaches etc. many of these barriers are starting to be removed but we still need to talk about them and raise issues! 

RichardWhitehead

DannyMoore said:

Hi Richard,

It's great to hear you're setting an example and proving that disabled people are just as talented as anyone else. I hope you get the nice feeling I get each time I prove that disabled people are talented.

Please keep setting an example to disabled people so they have hope.

Thank you.

Hi there! So glad you think so! I think it's important for everyone to do their part and help to provide opportunities. Thumbs up!