Professor Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association

02/27/22 • 37 min

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Professor Nick Webborn has chaired the British Paralympic Association since 2017. He is a world-leading expert on Paralympic sports medicine and the most widely-published author on the subject. He has attended 11 Paralympic and one Olympic Games.

He was born in Swansea in 1956, trained as a doctor in London and joined the RAF as a junior medical officer. In 1981 he was playing in an RAF rugby match when a mistimed opposition tackle left him with a severe spinal injury. After many months of treatment and rehabilitation, which he now describes as 'long and tortuous,' he wanted to return to work in medicine, but found that there was a reluctance to employ a doctor with a disability.

He worked as a GP and also pursued an interest in sports medicine, leading to research in this area and an academic role. When he saw the medical support available for Olympic athletes, he felt strongly that para-athletes deserved the same level of specialist help - especially as many also had to deal with underlying problems that their Olympic peers did not face. His pioneering research has made Paralympic sport safer for athletes, and has driven the development of sports medicine in areas such as rehabilitation. He also represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis in 2005.

Nick is Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton.

DISC ONE: Heroes by David Bowie DISC TWO: Hallelujah, composed by George Frideric Handel, performed by London Musici Chamber Choir and London Musici Orchestra, conducted by Mark Stephenson DISC THREE: Jamaica Farewell by Nina and Frederik DISC FOUR: Will Ye Go Lassie Go by The Corries DISC FIVE: For Crying out Loud by Meat Loaf DISC SIX: This is Me by Keala Settle DISC SEVEN: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond DISC EIGHT: You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & the Pacemakers BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Works of Charles Dickens LUXURY ITEM: Nick’s adapted Segway, with a built-in espresso machine CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: This is Me by Keala Settle

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Nick is Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton.

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

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Anne Tyler, writer

Anne Tyler is a novelist and short story writer. Her 23 novels include the Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Breathing Lessons.

Anne was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1941, the oldest of four children. Her parents were Quakers and the family lived in a succession of Quaker communities in the South until they settled in a Quaker commune in Celo, in the mountains of North Carolina in 1948. When she was 11 the family moved to Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, where Anne attended a mainstream school.

Anne majored in Russian literature at Duke University in North Carolina where she enrolled in a creative writing class run by the author Reynolds Price. After completing her studies she worked as a librarian in the university library.

Anne’s first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964 when she was just 22-years-old. Her writing is widely praised for the way it chronicles the lives of middle-class America and celebrates endurance and the complexities of family relationships.

Anne moved to Baltimore with her husband and children in 1967 and the city has been the setting for her books ever since.

DISC ONE: Darby’s Castle by Kris Kristofferson DISC TWO: This is My Father’s World by Cedarmont Kids DISC THREE: Hearts Of Stone by The Charms DISC FOUR: Darling Dareyne by Shusha DISC FIVE: Un Canadien Errant by Ian And Sylvia DISC SIX: Heart of Glass by Blondie DISC SEVEN: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman DISC EIGHT: Baltimore by Nina Simone

BOOK CHOICE: The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty LUXURY ITEM: A supply of pet food

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

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