Toby Richardson
Toby's Story
In June of 2021, Toby’s world was turned upside down. Initially complaining of backache, he was referred for physiotherapy.
Toby loved sports, especially rugby, playing in his local Under 11s team, so aches and bruises were nothing unusual.
However, a couple of weeks later, Toby struggled to stand, his condition rapidly deteriorated and within a short time, had completely lost control of his lower body and was rushed to Great Western Hospital in Swindon.
An emergency MRI scan revealed a previously undetected tumour, which had developed in and around Toby’s spinal cord and spanned two-thirds the length of his spine, he was immediately blue-lighted to the John Radcliffe Hospital for specialist attention where surgeons took the decision to perform emergency surgery.
This involved removing sections of vertebrae from Toby’s spine to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord. After the grueling
8-hour operation, they removed 70% of the tumour but felt that the remaining 30% was too risky to touch.
After the operation, Toby spent 3 months’ rehabilitation in hospital and has defied the original long-term prognosis that he would never regain the use of his legs.
Toby’s determination and mental courage combined with excellent care from his family and hospital staff saw him gradually rebuild his strength, everyone in his neuro, rehab teams and family were absolutely blown away when he took his first steps.
All concerned were incredibly moved by his positive mental attitude and mind set.
As soon as Toby arrived back home, he immediately started searching to see what sports were best suited to him. As he had previously played rugby the obvious choice to start with was wheelchair rugby, he then joined his local club which folded and now plays competitively for the Solent Sharks and is also in the team GB youth development program.
He then received a zoom call from Nathan Maguire, the world-renowned British wheelchair racer who has won multiple medals at both the 2018 and 2021 World Para Athletic, European Championships, and has also won 400 mixed class races at multiple British Athletics Champion ships. Whilst chatting, Nathan showed Toby some of his gold medals, that zoom call truly changed Toby’s life as it drove him to take up the sport himself, he has since raced and competed in regular local competitions and now holds 2 junior gold medals for Wiltshire in both the 100m and 200m wheelchair races.
His main goal is to compete at the next Commonwealth games.
He is registered with the Avon Youth League and is trained by a professional Para coach who is aiming to take Toby to the next level.
Toby was using a club owned race training wheelchair constructed from metal which because of its weight and design affects his ability to reach his potential top speeds.
**Toby’s long-term aspiration is to become part of the GB Paralympian Team and participate in racing wheelchair events around the world, to help him achieve his aims we have agreed to help fund a Top Eliminator NRG Racing Wheelchair which is Top End’s fastest, lightest, stiffest, and most responsive ride available designed for elite racers seeking to be at the top of the podium. A carbon fibre main frame provides increased tensile and yield strength, giving racers a smooth ride and controlled handling while the 200-gram full carbon fork features an aerodynamic design that flows into the headtube, creating clean lines for a sleek appearance. A tailored and fitted hybrid cage gives athletes the ability to fine tune their positioning, so they can optimize their power.
** Toby now has his Eliminator NRG Racing Wheelchair, with thanks to The Geoff & Fiona Squire Foundation**
Toby with his Trophy for player of the match .... Well done Toby!
Congratulations to @rtoby2431 who is now Welsh Champion in 100m and 400m wheelchair sprints.
We are so proud of you and it's well deserved.
Toby has been accepted on to the Welsh athletics performance pathway to represent Wales as part of team GB.
Toby’s decision to go with Wales is that they have offered him better support, structure and leadership compared to England.
In addition, It is also possible that on condition that Toby makes it to the next stage, which we all believe that that there is no doubt that he will, they will begin to help finace him if he gets podium in championship events.
Toby shared his great news on his Instagram.
Please follow this link to the Welsh athletics where you will find his name on the pathway
https://www.welshathletics.org/en/page/national-development-programme1
Toby now has his own website at www.tobyrichardson.uk
On behalf of Toby and his family, we thank you for all your support this year and we look forward to next season, it's going to be an amazing one!
