Mark Colbourne

Mark Colbourne
MBE
Personal information
Full name Mark Colbourne
Born (1969-11-09) 9 November 1969
Tredegar, Wales
Team information
Discipline Track

Mark Lee Colbourne[1] MBE (born 9 November 1969) is a former Welsh paralympic-cyclist, who competed for both Wales and Great Britain.

Early life

Colbourne was born on 9 November 1969 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales.[2] He played volleyball at international level for Wales between 1990 and 1993.[2]

He broke his back in 2009 after falling 35 feet (11 m) when forced into an emergency landing whilst paragliding.[3][4]

Cycling career

Following his accident Colbourne began cycling through Disability Sport Wales.[4] He competes in the C1 classification for riders on upright bikes with the most severe disability.[3] He trained with disabled cycling coach Neil Smith at the Newport Velodrome and made his first appearance in a track race in May 2010 at the Wales Grand Prix.[3]

In 2011 he won his first UCI Para-Cycling World Cup medals. He took bronze in the C1 time trail in Segovia, Spain at his debut at World Cup level. At the round in Baie-Comeau, Canada, he won the silver medal in the same event behind Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez of Spain.[5] His first World Championship medal was a silver at the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships held in Roskilde, Denmark.[2]

In 2012 Colbourne won his first world title, taking the gold medal in the C1 3 km individual pursuit at the 2012 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles, United States. At the same Championships he won the silver medal in the C1 1 km time trial.[2][4]

He was selected as part of the cycling team for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. On 30 August 2012 Colbourne won a silver medal and Great Britain's first medal of the 2012 Paralympics, in the C1-3 1 km time trial.[6] On 31 August 2012 he won a gold medal in the C1 3 km individual pursuit after breaking the world record in both the qualification round and the final.[7] He is scheduled to compete in two road cycling events; the C1 road time trial, on 5 September; and the C1-3 road race on 6 September.[4][8]

Colbourne was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.[9][10] In August 2013 Colbourne announced his retirement from para-cycling.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ GRO reference: December 1969, Vol. 8c, Page 310
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Mark Colbourne". British Paralympic Association. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Griffiths, Gareth (23 February 2012). "From near-death to sporting glory – Mark Colbourne’s remarkable story". Gwent Gazette. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Newbury, Piers (21 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Mark Colbourne's remarkable journey". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Para-cyclist Mark Colbourne wins World Cup silver". BBC Sport. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Paralympics 2012: Mark Colbourne wins GB's first medal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Henson, Mike (31 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Britain's Mark Colbourne wins 3km pursuit gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "ParalympicsGB: Who will compete for Great Britain in London?". BBC News. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60367. p. 24. 29 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "2013 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Paralympian Mark Colbourne retires from para-cycling". bbc.co.uk. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
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