He made his athletics debut at seventeen at a national school championships after being persuaded to attend by a friend, and won a gold medal. He went on to represent the United Kingdom at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, winning a total of five golds during that time. His two career highlights are winning gold and setting a world record at Barcelona in 1992, and winning the 5k race in Sydney in 2000, again setting a world record. At the 2004 games in Athens, he carried the flag for the Great Britain team at the opening ceremony.