Whitehead worries disabled athletes are known more for reality TV than sport

Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead says too many disabled athletes are known for their time on reality TV shows rather than their exploits in sport.

Whitehead, a double gold medallist and world record holder, is one of a number of high-profile Paralympians to have appeared on a celebrity show because of their success in their sport.

He appeared on Celebrity Hunted while Ellie Simmonds was on Strictly Come Dancing and Kadeena Cox has been on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.

However, Whitehead says their sporting achievements are being forgotten and has called for change in the exposure successful disabled athletes are getting.

The 46-year-old surged into the public consciousness after his mesmerising sprint from the back of the field to win the T42 200m title at London 2012, which he defended in Rio four years later. He is now fronting the newly launched Disability Sports Alliance – a digital platform designed to drive awareness of disability sport – after some alarming research saw 67% of UK adults unable to name a competitive or retired disabled athlete.

“It’s astounding that people associate the athletes with other media opportunities and not actually their own speciality,” he said. “So the likes of Ellie and Strictly Come Dancing, obviously myself doing what I’ve done, and other athletes as well. You want to be remembered as an athlete, you want to represent professionalism, you want to represent more than just the sport, but also you want to be identified through the successes that you’ve had, and then transcend to other areas as well.

“It’s about celebrating those successes and understanding that Paralympic athletes have so many barriers and obstacles to overcome, where we’re just getting on the field of