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]

A gold postbox outside Tredegar post office to commemorate the gold medal Colbourne won at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London

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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