Beighton joined the British Army and undertook his officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On 16 December 2000, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant with seniority from 13 December 2005.[4] He was promoted to captain on 16 June 2009.[5][6]
In October 2009, while on patrol in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, Beighton stood on an improvised explosive device.[7] His life was saved by an Army Medic, who kept him stable before being taken to medical facilities in Camp Bastion.[3] Beighton was placed in a medically induced coma and required 36 pints of blood during his initial treatment.[7] Although his life was saved he lost both his legs in the attack.[8]
In February 2010, Beighton attended a Paralympic talent identification day at Brunel University. It was there that he became aware that the British Paralympic squad were looking for a male Trunk and Arms rower.[6] He first sculled in July 2010 at Guildford Rowing Club as part of the rehabilitation programme at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre.[8] In April 2011, Beighton joined the Great Britain rowing team, and in May he was paired with Sam Scowen in the TA mixed Double Scull at the world cup in Munich.[7][9] They finished third to take the bronze. In August, Beighton travelled to Slovenia to compete in the 2011 World Rowing Championships, where he and Scowen finished 6th.[7] In 2011, Beighton and Scowen were the first rowers to qualify for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.[10] They finished fourth at the London 2012 Paralympics, on the losing end of a photo finish for the bronze medal.
Beighton subsequently became a member of the British paracanoe squad and competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro[11] where he won the bronze medal in the Men's KL2 canoe sprint.[1]
