He lost his leg in an accident but has a medical degree, was a Paralympic champion and is training to travel to space

The story of the former British Paralympic sprinter john mc fall (41) is worthy of admiration. The man he is among 17 astronaut candidates which the European Space Agency (ESA) has recruited as part of its class of 2022.

McFall became a professional athlete in 2005 and participated in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics where he won a bronze medal. In addition to his renowned career as an athlete, he is also a respected physician in the United Kingdom. The space call makes him the first physically disabled person to be recruited by a global space agency.

“I was incredibly excited and proud to have made it through the selection process,” the man told the audience emotionally. BBC. And he added: ‘It was quite an intense experience, the message it would give to future generations is that science is for everyone and space travel, hopefully, can be for everyone.’

A story of overcoming

John McFall was born in 1981 in Frimley, London. His life changed completely when At the age of 19, he lost his leg in a motorcycle accident.. After many operations and a prosthesis, John found a new opportunity in his life: he relearned how to run and became a professional athlete in 2005.

John represented Great Britain And northern Ireland as a Paralympic sprinter, class T42. Whilst an athlete, he served on the UK Athletes Council where he was the voice of his peers in the World Class Podium programme.

In his outstanding career as an athlete, he won the 100m bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, was the 200m World Cup champion and 007 100m silver medalist; Silver medal in the 100 m and bronze medal in the 200 m of the International Paralympic Committee, in 2006.

His medical career

As well as having an impressive history as an athlete, the man has combined sport with medicine, completing his BA from Swansea University in 2004 and his MA from the University Institute of Wales, Cardiff in 2005. In addition, he has worked as a nursing assistant at Marie Curie Hospice in Cardiff, UK from 2009 to 2011.

Later, John became a mentor for the innovative Paralympic Inspiration Programme, a project which supported aspiring future Paralympic athletes. He was also an ambassador and attaché of the International Paralympic Committee at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

From 2014 to 2016 John McFall was a Staff Doctor in the UK Public Health System working in a variety of medical and surgical specialties in South East Wales.

In addition, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2016 and is currently a trauma and orthopedic specialist working in the south of England.

A unique opportunity

John McFall is married with three children. He felt nothing could surprise him, but, at the age of 41, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself.

The ESA (European Space Agency) selected him as part of the Class of 2022. That means John McFall will be doing astronaut training. To go to space he would be the first to do so with a disability. The announcement was made during a press conference in Paris.

The group that will train to become astronauts is made up of the Spaniard Pablo Álvarez Fernández, the French Sophie Adenot, the British Rosemary Coogan, the Belgian Raphael Liegeois and the Swiss Marco Sieber, chosen from over 22,500 candidates.

With the former British athlete, the European Space Agency will study what needs to be adapted and redesigned for an astronaut with a disability. It could be several years before he goes into space, if at all.

UK Science Secretary George Freeman said he was proud that the UK was the first country to put a para-astronaut into space and demonstrate that space really is the new frontier.