COMMUNITY After the Event J


on-Allan Butterworth stormed to success at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, winning three silver medals at his first Games.


But just how did this ex-RAF Weapons Technician, who lost an arm in Basra, get where he is today?


It has been an immense journey for Jon-Allan and one in which the RAF Association has been proud to support him. Jon-Allan joined the RAF in 2002, and whilst working in Iraq in 2007, he was caught in a rocket attack on Basra Air Base. Jon-Allan lost his left arm just above the elbow.


A mere ten weeks later, he went on a Battle Back talent day at Loughborough University, a programme designed to help wounded service personnel get back into sport. Here, Jon-Allan was spotted by GB Cycling scouts and in 2009 he accepted a contract with the GB Paralympic Development squad.


In March 2012 Jon-Allan became world champion in the C5 class of 1km Time Trial with a world record time of 1min 7.212 secs.


He was then selected for the Paralympic GB squad for the London 2012 Games. Arriving at the Olympic Village was a surreal experience according to Jon-Allan. Both Paralympic GB and Team GB were housed in one apartment complex, meaning that 300 athletes and staff lived together as a squad. Life in the Village was rather like living in a bubble and there was no need to venture out for anything. Each athlete was given a swipe card which meant that just like the Queen, they didn’t need to pay for anything! There was a small shopping complex inside the Village and even a hair and beauty salon!


The athletes were unaware of what was going on outside the Village, so Jon-Allan says that the huge support at every event took him by complete surprise. He says that he had no contact with the outside world for three weeks before he began racing so the noise level in the velodrome was a huge shock. In fact, the volume was so high it affected Jon-Allan’s hearing of the noise from the bike. Normally he hears the chain and motions of the bike but this was totally drowned out: He said:


“For the short sprints the crowd volume was amazing and spurred me on to help forget the


www.raf-ff.org.uk


pain that you go through. For the longer races it was important to control yourself and not get carried away by the crowd as it was all about keeping your pace right to ride your own race”.


At this, his first Paralympic Games, Jon- Allan won an amazing three silver medals. First was in the 1km Individual Time Trial, where he was only beaten by the smallest of margins by the experienced Spanish rider, Alfonso Cabello. Then he won second silver in the 4km Individual Pursuit and finally a third in the Mixed Team Sprint. He credits the support from the public at the Games as being a major factor in his success and was delighted to have had the chance to compete at a home Games.


Coming out of the athletes Village and back into the ‘real’ world has taken some adjustment for Jon-Allan. He likens it to coming back from a tour and going home for leave. He said:


“On the station, you are surrounded by colleagues who have gone through a similar experience and understand each other, but outside of this, friends and family do not have the same level of understanding”. It was a similar situation when he left the Village – he had to go back to paying for things and thinking for himself again, rather than constantly following a training programme.


Now Jon-Allan is looking forward to Rio 2016. After some time at home, he is getting back into training and planning his competitions and training camps. He has set his targets up to 2016 but these are renewed on an annual basis.


Cycling has changed Jon- Allan’s life in every way possible. It has become the driving force, around which, everything else in his life must fit, including his family. He has made untold sacrifices to achieve his medals so far, and will make many more. When pushed, he admits he is happier in his new way of life than in his old. His view is simple:


“If you want to succeed you have to make sacrifices. I will


Envoy Winter 2012 49


continue doing this until I don’t enjoy it any more. Whether that is in 4 years or 20 years, who knows?”


The RAF Association has been proud to support Jon-Allan since 2009, including providing over £4,500 in annual sponsorship. The Association is keen to offer support to a range of sports, so if you would like to talk to us about help you may need, please contact marketing@rafa.org.uk 


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56