Nick Beighton
Nick Beighton, 44, spent his childhood in Shropshire as the youngest of four children. Growing up he was a passionate sportsman, taking part in a number of events from playing rugby to athletics, cross country, rock climbing and mountaineering.
He joined the British Army as an Officer in 2006 after commissioning from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Prior to this he gained a 2:1 Hons degree in Natural Environmental Science from the University of Sheffield. His first tour was at 28 Engineer Regiment in Hameln, Germany, as a close support Troop Commander, before deploying to Afghanistan in August 2009 as part of 11 Light Brigade. On the 5th October 2009 he was on a routine night patrol to the Company patrol base. About 40m from the entrance, he was severely injured in a Pressure Plate IED blast and subsequently lost both legs above the knee, and broke his pelvis. He spent the following 2 years recovering, undergoing rehab and learning to walk on prosthetic legs, based at the Defense Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court.
Having taken up rowing to aid his recovery, in 2012 Nick was selected to represent Great Britain in the Trunk and Arms Mix Double Scull at the London Paralympic where, with his rowing partner Sam Scowan, he finished in 4th place; only 0.21seconds outside of a medal.
In May 2014 Nick undertook a world first attempt to travel from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a straight line in aid of BLESMA, the limbless veterans. Beeline Britain covered 1400Km in 28 days by sea kayak, hand cycle and ‘by foot’, in the process raising £30,000 for the charity.
Having rekindled his motivation for competitive sport, Nick started training with the Great Britain Sprint Canoeing Squad with a view to competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, eventually wining Paralympic Bronze in the K1 200m event. After Rio, Nick continued to train full time with the Canoe squad but failed to qualify for the games in Tokyo 2021.
In 2022, in search of a new challenge, Nick undertook a talent transfer to British Cycling as a H5 hand-cyclist, representing Great Britain at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow. Needing to find a balance within his busy family life, and the commitment to a full-time role as an athlete, Nick left the squad in 2024. Not content with leaving competitive sport behind quite yet, Nick returned to his first love of climbing. He became British champion in the AL1 class of paraclimbing, and selected to represent Great Britain yet again, in his four sport, he competed internationally at the Innsbruck Para Climbing World Cup in 2025.
Alongside his sport, Nick is a qualified Bushcraft instructor and works for an alternative education provider, mentoring young people struggling with full-time education or within the care system.
Outside of training he spends his time with his partner of 22 years, Alexis, and his four sons Jonah (11), Rohan (8), William (4) and Kristian (4).
