Paul Blake (athlete)

Paul Blake

Blake during the 2013 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	15 January 1990 Dorchester, Dorset
Sport
Country	United Kingdom England
Sport	T36 athletics
Event(s)	400m, 800m and 1500m
Club	Dorchester Athletic Club
Coached by	Rob Ellchuk[1]
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Paralympic Games 1 1 1 World Championships 3 4 0 European Championships 0 2 2 Athletics Paralympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400m T36 2012 London 400m T36 2012 London 800m T36 IPC World Championships 2011 Christchurch 400m – T36 2013 Lyon 800m – T36 2015 Doha 800m – T36 2011 Christchurch 800m – T36 2011 Christchurch 1500m – T36 2013 Lyon 400m – T36 2015 Doha 400m – T36 IPC European Championships 2012 Stadskanaal 400m – T36 2014 Swansea 400m - T36 2012 Stadskanaal 800m – T36 2014 Swansea 100m - T36
Updated on 9 August 2012.

Paul Blake (born 15 January 1990) is a British athlete who competes in T36 middle distance events. Blake competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics where he won a silver and bronze medal. He followed this up with two gold medals at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, both in his favoured 800m event.

Personal history

Born in Dorchester, Dorset, Blake developed cerebral palsy after being deprived of blood in the womb.^[2][3] Blake's father, also called Paul, is an actor, best known for playing the bounty hunter Greedo in Star Wars (1977), while his mother Kate is a former ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet.^[3]

Career history

Blake competed for Great Britain at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships where he won a Gold in 400m and silver in 800m and 1500m. And at the 2012 IPC Athletics European Championships he won two medals (a silver and Bronze) and has been selected for the British team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics doing the 400m and 800m in T36. He also has the World Record in the T36 800m (2:08.02) and 1500m (4:34.42).^[4] At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Blake won silver in the 400m T36, in a personal best time of 54.22,^[5] and bronze in the 800m T36.^[6]

In 2013 Blake represented Great Britain at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. There he took part in the 400m and 80m T36 events. In the 400m he finished second behind Russia's Evgenii Shvetcov, but then secured his first major international gold with a win in the 800m.

At the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships, Blake enjoyed a medal winning championships. He started it off with a bronze medal in the T36 100m behind his team mate, Graeme Ballard. Blake had only started competing over the 100m competitively in 2014 and won a medal in Swansea after his victory over the distance at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games prior to the championships. Blake followed his 100m success with a silver medal in the 400m in south Wales.

At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships held in Doha, Blake was given the role of co-captain for the Great Britain team along with sprinter Laura Sugar.^[7] He successfully defended his 800m World title with a win over Russian rival Artyom Arefyev.^[8] Blake added a silver in the 400m, equaling his achievements from 2013 in Lyon.

References

1. Anderson, Katy. "Paul Blake News Article". The Independent. London. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
2. "Paul Blake". www.paralympics.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
3. Davies, Gareth (29 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Paul Blake dreaming of two golds in his first Games". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
4. "Blake sets new world record". Retrieved 9 August 2012.
5. http://www.teamgb.com/news/blake-storms-silver
6. "A brace of bronzes for Rushgrove and Blake at London 2012". Retrieved 13 October 2012.
7. Hudson, Elizabeth (26 October 2015). "IPC World Athletics: Paul Blake retains T36 800m world title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
8. "Results - Men's 800m T36 Final". IPC. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.