Former Sheffield fireman wins Paralympic gold in wheelchair rugby

Gavin Walker and his unstoppable squad beat USA 54-49 in the final on August 29 in Tokyo.

The historic win is the first Paralympic medal ever for GB in the sport after beating hosts Japan 55-49 to reach the final.

The former firefighter and father-of-two became a full-time athlete after being paralysed in an accident at home 11 years ago.

He was 27 when, at a garden party at his mum’s in Brinsworth, he slipped on wet decking around a garden pool and broke his neck.

Gavin was left able to use his arms but had no movement from the chest down.

But during his rehab in the Sheffield Spinal Unit, he was introduced to wheelchair rugby before attending his first training session at the Marauders Club.

Soon, he was selected to go to the Development Squad in 2011 and in 2013 was selected for the national squad and became a full time athlete.

He competed in his first Major at the European Championships in Antwerp in 2013, returning with a bronze medal, and went on to compete in the World Championships in Denmark in 2014.

After being appointed vice-captain in 2015, he made his Paralympic debut at the Rio 2016 games.

Now, along with co-captain Jim Roberts, he has led Team Great Britain to Paralympic gold history.

Wheelchair rugby, which is also a mixed sport made up of men and women, is one of the only full-contact disability sports and once went by the name ‘murderball’.

Teams aim to carry the ball across the opposing team’s try line and players can intercept one another using high speed crashes and snatches.

Last night, South Yorkshire Fire tweeted their congratulations to the former firefighter, writing: “A huge well done to former South Yorkshire firefighter Gav Walker who struck GOLD in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Well done to you and the rest of the team for all you have achieved.”

Gavin spent most of his firefighting career at Mansfield Road fire station, Intake, Sheffield.

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