Eric Pearce (athlete)
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1936 Nottingham, England |
| Died | 1997 (aged 60–61) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Sport | Paralympic athletics |
| Disability class | L3 |
Medal record | |
Eric Pearce (1936–1997) was an English Paralympic athlete, who represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Paralympics.[1]
Biography
[edit]Pearce was born in Nottingham. After leaving school, he went to work at Gedling Colliery before joining the RAF. Eric spent 12 years in the RAF during which he was stationed in Cypress, Singapore, Darlington and the Isle of Man.
After leaving the RAF he returned to work at Gedling Colliery. During this time, he was involved in an accident whereby a roof collapsed on him, injuring his back and leaving him hospitalised for several months. He was unable to work again because he had trouble walking and was reliant on a wheelchair.
After the incident, he began helping disabled children with sports. He also started to train himself to have something to focus on. Eventually, he was offered a place on the team to represent Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in New York City.
Soon after, he had a mild heart attack whilst on holiday in Las Vegas, ending his sporting career.
Pearce died on 31 March 1997 from pancreatic cancer. He was 61 years old.
References
[edit]
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 | This article about a Paralympic medalist of Great Britain is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1936 births
- 1997 deaths
- Royal Air Force airmen
- 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel
- Military personnel from Nottingham
- Sportspeople from Nottingham
- Paralympic athletes for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- British male discus throwers
- Deaths from pancreatic cancer
- Paralympic discus throwers
- Paralympic javelin throwers
- Paralympic shot putters
- Wheelchair discus throwers
- Wheelchair javelin throwers
- British wheelchair shot putters
- English male discus throwers
- English male javelin throwers
- British male javelin throwers
- English male shot putters
- British male shot putters
- 20th-century English sportsmen
- British athletics biography stubs
- British Paralympic medalist stubs