Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Charles Smith |
Nationality | British |
Born | Gravesend, England | 27 November 1989
Sport | |
Country | Great Britain / England |
Sport | Wheelchair Racing |
Disability | Paraplegia |
Disability class | T10/T11 |
Event(s) | T54 Marathon, Wheelchair Sprints |
John Charles Smith (born 27 November 1989), known professionally as JohnBoy Smith, is a British parathlete and wheelchair racer of Romany[1] descent who competes in the T54 category sprint events.[2]
Smith was born in Gravesend, Kent, England. At age 16, he was mistaken for a poacher and shot in the back leading to a spinal cord injury that left him with complete T10/T11 paraplegia.[3] He got motivated to pursue para-athletics and wheelchair racing after watching 2012 London Paralympics.[4]
He won a silver medal in the T54 marathon of 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games held in Australia representing England.[4] He competed in 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan representing Great Britain in T54 marathon.[5][6] In 2022 Smith won a gold medal for England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the marathon (T54) event.[7]