Rob Matthews (–2018)

Robert Aubrey Matthews was born in Strood, England on May 26, 1961. He lost his vision gradually to retinitis pigmentosa, so that by the time he was 20 he was blind. He attended the Royal National College for the Blind, where he ran and played goalball. After graduating, he started making his mark show more on the international sports world. He participated in the Paralympics for Great Britain from 1984 until 2004. During his career, he won eight gold medals, four silver medals, a bronze medal, and broke 22 world records. After retiring from competitive running, he worked as a massage therapist and motivational speaker in New Zealand. His autobiography, Running Blind, was published in 2009. He died from brain cancer on April 11, 2018 at the age of 56. (Bowker Author Biography) show less