Paralympian Jonnie Peacock: ‘Don’t let anything hold you back’

Paralympian runner Jonnie Peacock, who was awarded an MBE in 2013, has revealed how he built a “solid foundation of resilience over the years” and says “this is what has kept me going”.

For him determination is key, with his parents embedding this in him from an early age.

As a child, living with his parents and sister just outside of Cambridgeshire, he had dreamt of being a footballer but he faced an obstacle that would change the course of his life forever. In 1985, at the age of five, Jonnie contracted meningitis which saw him lose a leg.

At school Jonnie threw himself into everything, playing all sports and not holding back. In the hospital that fitted his prosthetic leg he found out about disability sport and was directed to a Paralympic sports talent day. In 2012 Jonnie won a gold medal, crowned a Paralympian at only nineteen years of age.

He is now working with Qube Learning, which runs apprenticeships and traineeships, to help inspire others to actively change their lives despite any disadvantages they may have in life.

He says: “I have built a solid foundation of resilience over the years, and I believe this is what has kept me going. When I was still at studying, I struggled to walk when my stump was sore so my mum would help carry me to school, I didn’t want to give in.