At five years old, Jonnie Peacock contracted Meningitis which killed the tissue in his right leg which led to a below-knee amputation. Whilst warned that this disability would impact him for the rest of his life, Jonnie showed his fighting spirit from the very start, determined it wouldn’t hinder him and even went on to compete against able-bodied children during school sports days.

He ran his first international race at the Paralympic World Cup in May 2012, and set a new record at the United States Paralympic trials. He then went from a relatively unknown athlete to a globally recognised sportsman at the London Olympics.

He has since had rivalries with the likes of US sprinter Richard Browne, who he would go on to beat at the 2013 World Championships and the 2014 European Championships. He would go on to defend his titles at the 2016 European Championships and Paralympics.

Jonnie Peacock Charity Work

Jonnie has often spoken about his passion for helping others and using his position to shine the spotlight and deserving charities. Unsurprisingly, the charity closest to his heart is Meningitis Research UK, where he is a patron, but he has also helped Comic Relief and Stand Up TO Cancer.

In 2017, Jonnie started working alongside Parasport – an online hub ‘designed to empower disabled people with the information they need to become more physically active’. Jonnie believes that physical activity transformed his life and mental health in many ways and gave him “the confidence to try new things”.

Jonnie Peacock Media Work

Since bursting onto the scene in 2012, Jonnie has become a popular TV personality, appearing on a range of entertainment and news programmes, as well as several documentaries.

In 2017, he was a contestant on the 15th series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he was the first amputee to compete on the show. He was eliminated in week eight of the competition. He has also appeared as a guest on Celebrity Juice (2012), The Crystal Maze (2016), The Big Fat Quiz of Everything (2017), Who Do You Think You Are? (2018), Celebrity Chase (2018), Would I Lie To You (2018), and Taskmaster (2022). He has spoken on news programming, including The One Show (2017-2018), Lorraine (2018-2020), and Tonight Live with Dan Wootton (2021). Whilst not an actor, Jonnie did appear in a 2021 episode of Hollyoaks, where he was seen comforting a character after a recent amputation.

Jonnie starred in the documentary, Who I Am: Jonnie Peacock in 2019, which took a look at his childhood, his amputation, and his achievements to date. In 2020, Jonnie had his own Netflix documentary entitled Rising Phoenix, which looked into the stories of past and present Paralympians. The following year, he hosted his own TV show, Jonnie’s Blade Camp for Channel 4, in which he helped five young amputees through a training course.

Jonnie Peacock Speaking Topics

– Sports

– Athletics

– London Olympics 2012

– Motivation

– Disability

– Overcoming Adversity

– Disability

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book inspirational paralympic athlete Jonnie Peacock for your corporate event.

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