John McFall (athlete)

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This article is about the British athlete and astronaut. For other persons with the same name, see John McFall (disambiguation).

John McFall
World Wheelchair and Amputee Games; silver – 2007 Visa Paralympic World Cup; silver – 2006 IPC
World C'ships
200 m (T42): gold – 2007 IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games; gold – 2007 Visa Paralympic World Cup; bronze – 2006 IPC World C'ships; bronze – 2005 IPC Open European C'ships
Highest world ranking100 m: 2nd (2007)[1]
200 m: 1st (2007)[2]
Personal best(s)60 m: 8.55 s (2005)[3]

100 m: 12.70 s (2007)[4]

200 m: 26.02 s (2006)[4]
Updated on 14 September 2008.

John McFall (born 25 April 1981) is a British Paralympic sprinter and ESA Project astronaut. In November 2022, he was selected by the European Space Agency to become the first "parastronaut". ESA will do a feasibility study on him flying to space and what needs to be adapted for people with disabilities.[5]

In 2000, when he was 19 years old, his right leg was amputated above the knee following a serious motorcycle accident. He took up running again after being fitted with a prosthesis, and participated in his first race in 2004. The following year, he was selected to represent Great Britain at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) European Championships, and took the bronze medal in the 200 metres (sport class T42).

In the 100-metre sprint, McFall subsequently won

World Wheelchair and Amputee Games
. He was ranked first in the world in 2007 for the 200 metres, and second for the 100 metres.

McFall, who has been called one of the fastest men in the world over 100 metres and 200 metres in the class of above-the-knee amputees, competed for Great Britain in the 100 metres (T42) at the

parastronaut.[6]

Early years and education

John McFall was born on 25 April 1981

A-levels,[10] he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. While riding a moped, he went round a corner too quickly and skidded. He put out his leg to stop the motorcycle from falling over, and smashed his knee. The motorcycle then fell on him, resulting in the chain severing major blood vessels in his leg.[12]

He was flown to a hospital in Bangkok, but as he had damaged his lower right leg so severely, it had to be amputated above the knee after three days.[13] Upon returning to the UK, he spent about seven weeks undergoing rehabilitation at Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton, London.[12]

McFall spent the next year at home, during which he took up

carbon-fibre running "blades".[12][13] He graduated from university with an upper second-class honours degree in summer 2004,[10][12] taking part in his first race at the Disability Sports Events (DSE) Championships in the UK[15] the same year.[11]

In September 2004, McFall embarked on postgraduate studies in sport and exercise science at the

University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), subsequently graduating with a Master of Science (MSc).[4][10] He took pre-medical examinations in 2008, and planned to retire from athletics after his 2009 season to train as a doctor.[16]

In 2014, McFall graduated with a

Orthopaedics in the Wessex Deanery of Health Education England. He is currently a Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar.[5]

Athletics career

McFall with the gold medal he won for the 200 metres sprint at the Visa Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, England, on 13 May 2007

With his sprinting prosthesis, McFall began training with an ex-Paralympian. In early 2005 former Welsh international athlete Darrell Maynard[17] took over as his coach and he began training with an able-bodied squad. He was selected to represent Great Britain at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) European Championships which took place in August 2005 in Espoo, Finland,[12] a decision that greatly surprised him as he had not achieved the qualifying standard in races that summer.[15] In the Championships, his first international competition, he took the bronze medal in the 200 metres[11] and came fourth in the 100-metre race,[18] having competed in sport class T42 (single amputation above the knee).[19] McFall was subsequently placed on a funding programme, enabling him to become a full-time athlete.[12]

At the end of January 2006, two weeks before the Sparkassen Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, McFall's car was stolen from the car park of the Welsh Institute of Sport where he worked part-time and trained. His customized running prosthesis worth £3,000 was in the boot.[20] Following his appeal for the return of the prosthesis, he received a telephone call from two youths who said they "might be able to recover the lost leg" but asked "What is it worth?" Infuriated, McFall refused to pay anything and asked the youths whether they had considered what being an amputee was like. After McFall agreed to take no further action against them, the youths anonymously returned the prosthesis to the Institute a week later.[21][22] McFall went on to achieve a personal best of 8.55 seconds in the 60 metres race, and 28.21 seconds in the 200 metres on 4 February.[3][22]

McFall's next major races were in September 2006 at the

ÅF Golden League.[26]

McFall achieved his personal best time (as at 30 May 2008) in the 100 metres of 12.70 seconds by winning silver at the Bayer International Track and Field Competition in

World Wheelchair and Amputee Games in Chinese Taipei held from 9 to 19 September 2007.[27] In 2007, he was ranked first in the world for the 200 metres, and second for the 100 metres.[1][2]

McFall, who has been called "one of the fastest men in the world over 100m and 200m in the class of above-the-knee amputees",[28] made his Paralympic début for Great Britain in the 100 metres (T42) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. After a false start,[29] he took the bronze medal in 13.08 seconds behind Canada's Earle Connor (12.32 seconds) and Germany's Heinrich Popow (12.98 seconds).[30] Despite McFall's plans to retire from athletics after his 2009 season to study medicine, he did not rule out competing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He has said, "It would be nice to do 2012. I'm interested in cycling and rowing, and I won't qualify as a doctor till 2013, so it wouldn't be impossible. We'll see. It's that constant striving for excellence, the hunger to do more."[16]

Although McFall was born in England, he lives in Cardiff and competes professionally for Wales. He has said, "Wales has been very good to me and I want to put something back. So I'm very proud to run for Wales." According to him, his motorcycle accident "has been, in some ways, the best thing that ever happened to me. It's given me a focus, a drive, every day is a new challenge. ... I always had a list of goals and aspirations which didn't change after my accident – they just changed direction. Losing my leg has changed my life, but it hasn't changed who I am."[14]

Medals

Time
(s) 		Medal Date Event
100 m (sport class T42)
12.70[1]
(personal best) 		Silver 10 August 2007 Bayer International Track and Field Competition
Leverkusen, Germany
12.79[26] Bronze 6 July 2007
ÅF Golden League
Paris, France
12.83[27] Gold 13 September 2007
World Wheelchair and Amputee Games
Chinese Taipei
12.98[31] Gold 20 May 2006 ParalympicChallenge
Duderstadt, Lower Saxony, Germany
13.02[25] Silver 13 May 2007 2007 Visa Paralympic World Cup
Manchester, England, UK
13.08[30] Bronze 14 September 2008
People's Republic of China
13.55[32] Silver 9 September 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships
Assen, Netherlands
200 m (sport class T42)
26.02[2]
(personal best) 		Unknown 11 June 2006 [Not yet ascertained]
Manchester, England
26.08[33] Gold 17 June 2007 World Athletics Championships for the Disabled
Stadskanaal, Netherlands
26.20[34] Gold 14 September 2007
World Wheelchair and Amputee Games
Chinese Taipei
26.40[7] Bronze 5 September 2006 IPC World Championships
Assen, Netherlands
26.84[24]
(competition record) 		Gold 13 May 2007 2007 Visa Paralympic World Cup
Manchester, England, UK
27.04[35] Bronze 14 August 2005 [Not yet ascertained]
Berlin, Germany
28.08[36] Bronze 26 August 2005 IPC Open European Championships
Espoo, Finland

Personal life

Following the 2008 Paralympic Games, McFall returned to the UK from Beijing overland via the

free-fall parachute licence.[11][14]

In his free time, McFall enjoys playing the guitar.[38]

2022 ESA Astronaut Group

On 23 November 2022, McFall was announced to be one of the reserve and subsequently, project astronauts in the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group.[5]

Notes

  1. ^
    International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation, retrieved 30 May 2008; see also "Victorious Connor just off his record", Edmonton Journal, 11 August 2007, archived from the original
    on 14 May 2009, retrieved 14 May 2009.
  2. ^
    International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation
    , retrieved 30 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b Sparkassen-Cup 2006, Stuttgart, 04.02.2006 (PDF), Leichtathletik.de, 4 February 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2008, retrieved 30 May 2008.
  4. ^ a b c John McFall: Profile, UK Athletics, archived from the original on 5 June 2008, retrieved 26 May 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "John McFall". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Pride of Britain! Paralympic star John McFall to become first disabled astronaut in space". express.co.uk. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Athletics, Men's 100m – T42, Final&#124 (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, 9 September 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2008.
  8. ^ Athlete biography: McFALL John, Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 2008, archived from the original on 7 September 2008, retrieved 14 September 2008.
  9. ^ Some sources indicate that McFall was born in Hampshire: see, for instance, Carolyn Hitt (23 January 2006), "Disabled athlete left without a leg to run on", Western Mail and "Amputee races on to chase dreams", South Wales Evening Post, 26 April 2008.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Triumph over adversity, Old Millfieldian Society, 2008, retrieved 28 May 2008 [dead link].
  11. ^ a b c d e f Simon Hart (18 April 2008), "Road to Beijing Olympics: John McFall", The Daily Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 31 May 2008, retrieved 6 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Julia Stuart [interviewer] (15 April 2007), "Personal column: Walking tall", The Independent, London, archived from the original on 20 April 2013 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help).
  13. ^ a b c Carolyn Hitt (23 January 2006), "Disabled athlete left without a leg to run on", Western Mail.
  14. ^ a b c "Amputee races on to chase dreams", South Wales Evening Post, 26 April 2008.
  15. ^ a b John McFall (18 June 2008), Beijing Diary by John McFall, UK Athletics, archived from the original on 3 August 2008, retrieved 4 August 2008.
  16. ^ a b Sheryl Garratt (26 July 2008), "Britain's Olympic athletes: Crunch time", The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Magazine), London, archived from the original on 4 August 2008, retrieved 6 August 2021.
  17. ^ Athlete: John McFall, Disability Sport Wales, 2007, archived from the original on 9 November 2007, retrieved 25 May 2008.
  18. ^ Martin McElhatton (25 August 2005), Gold for GB at IPC Open European Athletics Champs, SportFocus, retrieved 26 May 2008.
  19. ^ IPC Athletics Classification Handbook 2006 (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, 2006, p. 15, archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2011, para. 18.7; see also Noel Thatcher (15 July 2002), "A classy system explained", BBC Sport, retrieved 27 May 2008.
  20. ^ "Athlete's prosthetic leg stolen", BBC News, 21 January 2006.
  21. ^ "Athlete's stolen leg is returned", BBC News, 26 January 2006.
  22. ^
    Otto Bock: 11, June 2006, archived from the original
    (PDF) on 26 June 2008, retrieved 28 May 2008.
  23. ^ Tony Garrett (14 September 2006), "Encouraging signs", BBC Sport.
  24. ^ a b T42–200 metres, Men, Event 2, Results (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, 13 May 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012, retrieved 27 May 2008.
  25. ^ a b T42–100 metres, Men, Event 15, Results (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, 13 May 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012, retrieved 27 May 2008. See also Elizabeth Hudson (13 May 2007), "GB's Rushgrove breaks world mark", BBC Sport.
  26. ^
    Meeting Gaz de France, July 2007, retrieved 28 May 2008[permanent dead link]. See also Elizabeth Hudson (5 July 2007), "McFall aims to grab Golden chance", BBC Sport; "McFall claims third in Paris race", BBC Sport
    , 6 July 2007.
  27. ^ a b McFall has golden fortunes in Taiwan, Disability Sport Wales, September 2007, archived from the original on 17 October 2007, retrieved 28 May 2008. See also Medals for Britain at IWAS World Games, ParalympicsGB, British Paralympic Association, September 2007, archived from the original on 9 June 2011, retrieved 28 May 2008; Bob Cypher (17 September 2007), "Athletics: McFall strikes double sprint gold in Taiwan", South Wales Echo; John McFall does the double in Taiwan, Sports Council Wales, 14 September 2007, archived from the original on 11 December 2007, retrieved 28 May 2008; Early success for Brits in Taipei, UK Athletics, September 2007, retrieved 28 May 2008[permanent dead link]; McFall does the Golden Double in Taiwan, Welsh Athletics, September 2007, archived from the original on 13 October 2008, retrieved 28 May 2008 .
  28. ^ Sheryl Garratt (29 March 2008), "Final countdown [online version: Beijing 2008 Olympics: Final countdown for six British hopefuls]", The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Magazine), London: 28 at 32–35[dead link].
  29. ^ "GB's McFall grabs sprint bronze", BBC Sport, 14 September 2008, retrieved 17 September 2008.
  30. ^ a b Athletics Day 7 morning session review: Eight of the best at the Bird's Nest, Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 14 September 2008, archived from the original on 21 September 2008, retrieved 14 September 2008.
  31. ^ Results for the ParalympicChallenge: Men's 100 m final race, starting class 42, ParalympicChallenge, Duderstadt 2006, 2006, archived from the original on 7 September 2007, retrieved 26 May 2008; "Stolen leg runner wins first race", BBC Sport, 22 May 2006.
  32. ^ Athletics, Men's 100m – T42, Final (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, 9 September 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2008, retrieved 27 May 2008.
  33. International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation, retrieved 30 May 2008. See also Bayer disabled athletes hope for World Championship tickets: Mester shines with new world record, Bayer
    , 17 June 2007.
  34. World Wheelchair and Amputee Games. See also IWAS World Championship, 9/13/2007, Taiwan
    , WCRacing.net, retrieved 9 November 2009.
  35. International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation
    , retrieved 30 May 2008.
  36. ^ IPC Athletics Open European Championships, Espoo, 22.8.2005–27.8.2005 (PDF), International Paralympic Committee, August 2005, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2008, retrieved 27 May 2008
  37. ^ John McFall (29 July 2008), John McFall's Beijing diary, UK Athletics, archived from the original on 5 August 2008, retrieved 4 August 2008
  38. ^ "Life's a beach", video diary at Simon Hart (18 April 2008), "Road to Beijing Olympics: John McFall", The Daily Telegraph.

References

Further reading

External links

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