Paralympic gold medallist Richard Whitehead has backed calls for the Games to return to London, saying there is still “a long way to go” in boosting the profile of disabled sport.
With 100 days until the 2024 Paralympics Games launch in Paris, world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz has captured Whitehead and five other para athletes in striking portraits that “celebrate health in all its forms”.
As the images were unveiled on London’s South Bank on Tuesday morning, Whitehead told the Standard he was “really proud” of his portrait, and said he hoped it would help draw attention back to disabled sport.
The 47-year-old, who runs with prosthetic legs following a double through-knee congenital amputation, was a hero of London 2012 when he took home gold in the 200m sprint - a medal he went on to win again at Rio in 2016.
“London 2012 was a great opportunity to put disabled people, and disabled people's access needs and communication needs, at the forefront of people's thinking,” he said.
“When you look at London 2012...it's fantastic to have that opportunity. But then it's what happens next.
“I still feel that the disabled community is still left behind in some elements.
“I think we have, still, a long way to go with inclusion, regarding not just access but also the way we communicate with the disability community.”
He added that he is pleased to see better representation in the media of people with disabilities, but added: “I think sometimes that's still tokenistic.”
“We need to really have that authentic representation for the disability community.”
Whitehead said he would be keen to see the Olympics and Paralympics return to London - something Sadiq Khan has pledged to bid for, for 2040.
“London is a city that's very diverse. Yes, it has so many challenges and obstacles, but I think through the power of sport you can have those moments of social change,” he said.
“Sport isn't all about the field of play - it's about everything else. How London 2012 enriched the city economically and socially was massive, as well as what obviously went on in the stadiums.”
He spoke of the important role disabled athletes play in inspiring the next generation of young people.
“There's still young children who don't understand that they're not the only person with a disability like theirs in the world,” he said.
“To see someone being successful with a disability is like a life-changing experience. It gives them hope and aspiration for the future, that they can live a fruitful life and achieve their ambitions. To think ‘I’m not alone’.”
The Paris Paralympic Games are due to begin on August 28, and Whitehead encouraged people to help boost its profile by following the event and watching the coverage.
“At the Paralympics, when you're in the field of play your challenges, obstacles, impairment or disability kind of just disappears,” he said.
“It's about competition. That’s what I've always championed - that yes, we're athletes with impairments or disabilities, but it's high level sport. These athletes are the best in the world competing for a gold medal. That's what it's all about.”
Among Leibovitz’s six portraits, taken as part of Bupa’s ‘Picture of Health’ campaign, aims to capture what health means to the six athletes she photographed.
Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker, British sprinter and Paris 2024 hopeful, is captured with his family to reflect his holistic view of health as both physical and mental energy, while Whitehead is captured standing looking out across Paris with a determined expression.
“I'm really proud of the picture you see,” he told the Standard. “Determination's my kind of ‘picture of health’. That doesn't just represent being determined for success, it more represents being determined for social change.
“Annie is globally recognised in her craft, and to work with someone that is the best at what they do has been a chance to learn a bit about myself and to share my greatest achievement of accepting my disability… not as a negative, as an opportunity to show people that anything is possible.”
Bupa is inviting people to upload their own Picture of Health to its online gallery from Tuesday (May 21) to June 21.
Those submitting from the UK will also have the chance to win tickets to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games this August. Visit bupapictureofhealth.com to find out more.
In 2013, Whitehead became the first double through-knee amputee to run the length of the UK, running 40 marathons in 40 days for charity.
He has also founded the Richard Whitehead Foundation, to create social change and use the power of sport for the benefit of disabled people. Last month, he set a new world record in the London Marathon for athletes with bilateral knee amputations.
