Andy Lewis realises Paralympic dream at Rio by winning PT2 Para-triathlon gold
A DEVASTATING motorbike accident prevented Andy Lewis from achieving his dream of joining the Paras as a teenager.
But yesterday, on the glorious and iconic Copacabana Beach, the 33-year-old did finally achieve one Paras target – as he became Britain’s inaugural Paralympic champion in triathlon.
In 1999, when Lewis left secondary school, his ambition was to join the Parachute Regiment – commonly known as the Paras.
But an accident later that year, involving a 38-ton lorry, put the then 16-year-old in hospital for more than four months.
It was only in December 2005, after six years of routine hospital trips and several complications, that he decided to have a through-the-knee amputation of his right leg.
"There were always going to be obstacles, I just had to learn to overcome them.”
Overcome them he certainly has, powering to victory in the men’s PT2 event in 1min 11.49sec – nearly a minute quicker than the silver medallist, Italy’s Michele Ferrarin.
Lewis added: “It brings tears to my eyes that I’ll be able to tell my kids that I won this gold medal.”