World's first parastronaut hails Paralympics' 'powerful platform'

PARI : British Paralympian John McFall will be taking a stand for sports and space this week after becoming the first person with a physical disability to be cleared for future missions by the European Space Agency.

The 43-year-old surgeon, who won a 100m bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, is in France to back Team GB at the Paris Games and to show how elite competitors can go on to break through ever more formidable barriers.

"I think sport has been a hugely powerful vehicle for making people appreciate what anybody is capable of. But now that we have Paralympic sport on the radar much more ... it's a really, really great, powerful platform to see what people with physical disabilities are capable of," he said in an interview.

McFall was visiting Thailand at the age of 19 when a motorcycle accident led to the amputation of his right leg above the knee and ended his hopes of a career in the army.

"I went through some dark times during those early days, but largely frustration, because I needed something to quench that appetite I had for challenge and achieving. And for me, the natural choice was sport. Challenging myself physically, I got reward from that, and really that was a very powerful vehicle for my rehabilitation," he told Reuters.

"In the eight years that it took me from losing my leg to competing in Beijing, I learned a huge amount about myself: probably most importantly, that if I put the effort in, I can achieve whatever I want, really."

Now he is moving on to his next big challenge.

Three years ago a colleague sent him an advert for would-be astronauts, including someone to take part in a European study on whether a person with a physical disability could become a full crew member on the International