Robert Matthews (athlete)

Matthews was born in Kent.^[1] He was born with the degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa which he inherited from his father.^[2] Matthews started to have significant difficulties with his vision when he was 11,^[2][3] and by age 18 had lost most of his sight. He attended a school for the partially sighted from the age of 13, and went on to study at a college for the blind.^[2] In 1993, he moved to Leamington to work for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.^[1]

Matthews' first wife, Kath, died suddenly, in November 2003, aged 38.^[3] Three years later, he met the woman who would become his second wife, Sarah Kerr, while he was on a holiday in New Zealand, and soon thereafter emigrated to the country to be with her.^[2][4] The couple had two children.^[1]

In the 1987 Birthday Honours, Matthews became the first Paralympian to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), "for services to sport for the disabled".^[5] He was awarded honorary masters of arts degrees from Warwick University in 2001, and from Worcester University in 2006.^[6][7] Matthews was inducted into the BBC Midlands Hall of Fame in 2004.^[7][8]

Matthews was also a sports-massage therapist, and motivational speaker. His autobiography Running Blind was published in 2009.^[2] The writer of the 2014 film Blind Ambition told Matthews that it was his performance at the 1988 Paralympics that had inspired the story; Matthews helped show actor Robson Green how blind running worked, and received a small part in the film.^[7] Matthews was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2017,^[4] and died on 11 April 2018.^[9]

Matthews first competed at the Paralympics in 1984 at the Stoke Mandeville/New York Games. He started off in the B1 class middle- and long-distance events, winning gold in all three disciplines: the 800 m, 1,500 m, and 5,000 m. Four years later, at the Games in Seoul, he retained all three titles. He again won the 5,000 m in 1992, and finished with a silver in the 800 m and bronze in the 1,500 m. This brought his medal tally to 13, eight of which were golds.^[10]

Matthews broke 22 world records, and won six world championship and 15 European championship gold medals.^[7] In 1986, he became the first blind runner to run the 800 m in under two minutes, breaking his own world record in the process.^[2][7] He was listed as one of eight "iconic athletes" in the London 2012 Guide to the Paralympic Games.^[11]

Matthews retired from track and field athletics after failing to win a medal at the 2004 Games in Athens and failing to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games despite setting a new New Zealand record for the 1,500 m event.^[1][10][7] He began to concentrate on a new sport and competed in blind cycling events at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London as a representative of New Zealand.^[1][12] Matthews also represented New Zealand as a triathlete from 2009.^[9][13]