Here's Jonnie! British sprinter Peacock wins the battle of the blades to claim Paralympic gold... 14 years after he lost his leg and almost died from meningitis
- Jonnie Peacock wins 100m in Paralympic record time of 10.90 to claim title of the world's 'fastest amputee'
- South African rival Oscar Pistorius finished fourth and is yet to win an individual gold medal at London 2012
- Peacock, 19, had his right leg amputated below the knee when he was five after contracting meningitis
- His family were told he may not survive, but he made a remarkable recovery to become one of Britain's finest Paralympians
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A British teenager who lost his leg after contracting meningitis as a boy became a Paralympic hero tonight as he won gold at London 2012.
Jonnie Peacock, 19, won his eagerly-awaited sprint final against fellow blade runner Oscar Pistorius to become the 100m champion in a Paralympic record time of 10.90secs.
The success for Peacock, from Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, was all the sweeter given his remarkable recovery from a condition which almost killed him 14 years ago.
Record-breaker: Jonnie Peacock celebrates winning the 100m sprint final for Britain in a Paralympic best time of 10.90secs
Winner: Jonnie Peacock poses with the Union flag after defeating South African athlete Oscar Pistorius to claim the title of the world's 'fastest amputee'
Peacock v Pistorius
Peacock was only five when he contracted meningitis in October 1998.
He was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where he lay in a coma for four days with doctors warning his parents that he may not survive.
Blood poisoning meant that surgeons had to amputate his right leg just below the knee to rid his body of the deadly infection.
But he was determined not to be beaten by his disability and fought to enjoy his childhood as much as possible, even cycling with his sisters.
His improvement was so dramatic that his family had their benefits cut only 18 months after he was taken ill.
When medics assessed Peacock in 2000, they were so impressed by his athleticism that they decided he could move like any other seven-year-old.
Star of the future: A photograph of Jonnie Peacock, taken before he lost a leg after contracting meningitis at the age of five
Fighting spirit: Peacock, pictured as a six-year-old on a family holiday in Florida with his mother Linda and sisters Bethany and Rebekah, was determined to remain active after his leg was amputated
It meant the weekly payment to his mother of £92.25 in disability benefit was halted for six months from February 2000.
The family appealed against the decision and the Benefits Agency agreed to make payments of £51.30 a week in mobility allowance.
The agency also agreed to backdate the missed payments and guaranteed that the family would receive financial support until Peacock was 16.
Peacock was inspired to remain athletic after he met England football stars Michael Owen and David Beckham on a visit to watch the national team in 2000.
That year he was also able to take up ballet and, fitted with an artificial limb, he attended weekly dance classes at his local village hall from the age of eight.
National heroes: Peacock was seven years old when he met England footballers Michael Owen (left) and David Beckham with his mother Linda (right). The meeting inspired him to become an athlete himself
Someone to look up to: Gold medal winner Jonnie Peacock also met striker Alan Shearer during a visit to an England football match in 2000
All smiles: Football great Kevin Keegan, who was England coach in 2000, posed for a photograph with Peacock when the future Paralympian was seven
Incredible recovery: Jonnie Peacock's mother Linda Roberts (left) has revealed how the teenager, pictured trying out a prosthetic running leg at 16 (right), surprised medics with his athleticism
His proud mother Linda Roberts, now 46, said Peacock had been a fighter ever since he lost his leg.
Ms Roberts, of Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, added: 'A doctor told me my little boy had 48 hours to live and that now was the time to say goodbyes. But I couldn’t.
'People say he’s wonderful because he’s achieving all these great things but for me he doesn’t have to win a race for me to be proud of him.
'When you remember the little boy who stared down at his leg and wondered what had happened to his world, you remember how far he’s come.
'He’s beaten greater battles than Oscar Pistorius.
'Just competing is such a fantastic achievement for him.'
The 19-year-old poster boy, who had promised to ‘shock the world’ at London 2012, lived up to his boast by claiming the title of the world’s ‘fastest amputee’.
Roared on by 80,000 packed inside the Olympic Stadium, Peacock blazed up the track to win the most eagerly anticipated clash of the Paralympics. Pistorius finished fourth.
It came on a magnificent night for Paralympic GB that saw wheelchair racers David Weir and Hannah Cockcroft power to victories as Britain smashed its medal target in London 2012 with three days of competition still to go.
For Weir, 33, his win in the T54 800m completed a brilliant hat-trick of golds before his home crowd, while 20-year-old Cockcroft’s win in the T34 women’s 200m was her second gold of the Paralympic Games in the stadium.
Their successes helped to propel Team GB past their Beijing medal haul of 102 and London 2012 target total of 103 with realistic prospects of at least another 20 medals.
The distinction of winning GB’s 103rd medal fell to swimmer Heather Frederiksen, claiming silver in the S8 100m freestyle.
More than one million people have paid so far to watch Paralympic athletes give their inspirational performances in London’s Olympic Stadium – meaning it has been the most commercially successful of any Paralympics so far.
The clash between Peacock and Pistorius was considered the Blue Riband event and had been among the most talked about of London 2012.
The win could now be worth a fortune to Peacock, with companies and backers lining up for him to endorse their products.
The defeat means that Pistorius, the world’s most famous Paralympian, has now been beaten in his first two individual events at London 2012 although he did take South Africa to a relay gold medal on Wednesday.
For Britain, a new star emerged last night when 15-year-old swimmer Josef Craig won his first Paralympic gold medal in spectacular style.
The teenager won the S7 400m freestyle in a world record time of four minutes 42.81 seconds. It trumped the world record he had set hours earlier in the heats by three seconds – to the amazement of his rivals.
Craig, who has cerebral palsy, punched the air and blew kisses to the crowd after his win.
The schoolboy, from Hebburn, South Tyneside, said: ‘It means more than anything in the world. It’s the happiest day of my life.’
Out in front: Britain's Jonnie Peacock (L) crosses the line first to win ahead of South Africa's Arnu Fourie (green and gold vest) and US athlete Richard Brown (right)
Role model: Jonnie Peacock fought back from adversity to reach the very top as a Paralympic athlete
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199491/British-sprinter-Jonnie-Peacock-wins-Paralympic-gold-14-years-lost-leg-died-meningitis.html#ixzz25jfI3g2t
