The trustees of SPIRIT are very sorry to learn that Margaret Maughan, Britain’s first Paralympic gold medallist, has died aged 91 and we send condolences to her family and friends.
Margaret was paralysed in a car accident in Malawi in 1959 but took up archery as part of her rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville hospital and was selected for the 1960 Paralympics in Rome.
She won two gold medals – in archery and swimming – and went on to compete in four further Games and in 2012, she lit the flame at the London Paralympics opening ceremony.
Margaret’s life after spinal cord injury illustrates what can be achieved for people affected by SCI with access to specialist rehabilitation and Spinal Injury Centres.