Tweet: Steve and Hannah are on the way back to the UK for personal reasons, leaving poor John to fend for himself in... http://t.co/tjdsWwuP
Stephen Thomas is one of Britain’s leading Paralympic sailors. He competes in the Sonar- a three-Person Keelboat. Along with team mates Hannah Stodel and John Robertson he iscampaigning for his 3rd Paralympic games. Since coming together in 2003 the team have achieved success in the class, winning World Championship titles in 2005 and 2006. They have been sailing together now for nearly 9 years, and 2012 will be their 3rd Paralympic Campaign.
Stephen Thomas
Stephen Thomas is one of Britain’s leading Paralympic sailors. He competes in the Sonar- a three-Person Keelboat. Along with team mates Hannah Stodel and John Robertson he iscampaigning for his 3rd Paralympic games. Since coming together in 2003 the team have achieved success in the class, winning World Championship titles in 2005 and 2006. We’ve been sailing together now for nearly 9 years. This is our 3rd Paralympic Campaign, and now that the Games have come to the UK, we are raring to go!
Name: Stephen Thomas
Date of birth: 05 January 1977
Place of birth: Bridgend, South Wales
Current hometown:Weymouth
Class:Sonar (Mainsheet) with John Robertson (Helm) and Hannah Stodel (Crew)
Coach:Mark Rushall
Currently sails at: Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy
Why sailing: I've always had a background in sport, I used to play rugby for Wales at U18 level, however during that year I contracted meningitis, which eventually resulted in having a double below knee amputation. After coming out of hospital I gave Sledge Hockey a go and within 6 months made the GB team but we narrowly missed out on qualification on the 2002 Winter Paralympic games. I then decided I wanted to compete in other sports and coincidently John and Hannah were looking for a 3rd person to sail with.
Greatest sporting achievement: Winning our first World Championships in 2005 and winning again in 2006
Hobbies: Include fitness (getting big in the gym), movies, eating lots of good food, and the odd glass of good red wine. I'm also about to buy a new mountain bike, which I’m looking forward to throwing around the trails and maybe taking it abroad to do some cycling holidays.
Career Highlights
January 2012 – Rolex Miami OCR, USA – 2nd
January 2012- IFDS Paralympic Sailing World Championships, Port Charlotte, USA – 3rd
June 2011 – Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth, GBR – 1st
July 2011- IFDS World Championships, Weymouth GBR -2nd
January 2011- Rolex Miami OCR, USA – 1st
July 2010 – Delta Lloyd IFDS World Championships, Medemblik, NED-2nd
August 2010 - Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth, GB – 2nd
January 2010 – Rolex Miami OCR, USA – 2nd
January 2009- Rolex Miami OCR, USA - 1st
September 2009- Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth, GB – 2nd
2008 Paralympic Games, Beijing – 6th
2008 IFDS Qingdao International Regatta – 1st
2008 Hyeres Olympic Classes Regatta, FRA – 1st
2006 IFDS World Championship- 1st
2005 IFDS World Championships – 1st
2004 Paralympic Games, Athens - sixth
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