Dame Sarah Storey is Great Britain’s most decorated Paralympian.
Dame Sarah has won 17 Gold, 8 Silver and 3 Bronze medals across an impressive 8 Paralympic Games.
Furthermore, she has won World and Paralympic Gold medals across two sports – swimming and cycling.
Having competed for the GB Paraswim team from 1992 until 2005, Sarah found her second sport of cycling by accident.
Forced out of the water for much of 2005 with a series of ear infections, much of Sarah’s conditioning work that year was done on a bike and by the end of that year she had broken the world record for the Paracycling 3,000m Individual Pursuit.
The decision to switch into full-time cycling was not an easy one, but since that switch, Sarah has built on her solid foundation from the pool to such an extent that it is often forgotten how dominant and versatile she was as a young swimmer.
In an international career that has spanned over two decades, Sarah Storey has a unique and inspiring story, not least because she has also won some of her gold as an able-bodied athlete.
At the London 2012 Paralympics, Sarah topped the medal table with 4 Gold Medals from 4 events.
Following London 2012, Sarah took a break from racing to have her first child. However, she later returned to the saddle setting a World Record at the 2014 World Track Championships, eclipsing the time she set to win her first gold medal in London!
The impressive comeback set Sarah up for an unprecedented build-up to her 7th Paralympic Games in Rio during which time she was the first woman to attempt the UCI Hour Record since the previous mark was set in 2001, she won a stage of the Tour de Bretagne, 4 Para-Cycling World titles, a bronze in the National Time Trial Championships and the able-bodied National Points Race title, all inside the first 15 months after the birth.
Setting up her own cycling team and taking it to UCI level in 2016 ensured the perfect build-up to defend her Paralympic crowns in 2016.
During the Rio Games, her dominance of the C5 class continued winning 3 Gold Medals.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Sarah claimed her 17th Gold medal, making her Britain’s Greatest Paralympian
When asked about her secrets of success Sarah has always been a firm believer in continually challenging herself and changing the stimulus of racing to remain fresh and ready for new talent coming into the sport.
Medals and Titles include:
- 25 Paralympic Medals
- 17 Paralympic Gold Medals (5 swimming, 12 cycling), 8 Silver Medals (swimming), 3 Bronze Medals (swimming)
- 29 World Championship titles (6 swimming, 23 cycling)
- 21 European titles (18 swimming, 3 cycling)
- 7 World Cup titles (5 Paracycling, 2 able-bodied cycling)
- More than 140 National titles (including 6 able-bodied National titles on the track)
- 75 World Records
- Polka Jersey holder: 2015 Tour of California, 2016 Tour of Brittany
- Most Aggressive rider Jersey Holder: 2016 Tour of California
- 2012 National Road Race Series Champion with 4 victories from 4 races
- 2014 & 2015 National Time Trial Series Champion
Dame Sarah Storey – Keynote Speaker:
Dame Sarah is very experienced in making keynote speeches and presentations at corporate events and business conferences.
Her motivating style and enthusiastic approach, coupled with her insightful approach to life, ensures all delegates leave inspired.
Sarah delivers stories from her sporting career, and talks about the highs and lows of competing on an international stage.
Sarah links the lessons she has learnt through sport to improving any aspect of your life or business.
In a world where the smallest margins are the difference between winning and losing, Sarah explains what it takes to push yourself to the limits in order to succeed against the odds.