Lee Pearson

Sir David Lee Pearson CBE (born 4 February 1974) is an 11-times Paralympic Games gold medallist having represented British para-equestrianism in Sydney, Athens, Beijing London and Rio. Over the course of his career he has won 30 gold medals at European, World and Paralympic level.

For the Australian tennis player, see Lee Pearson (tennis).

Lee Pearson
Pearson in 2008
Personal information
Full nameDavid Lee Pearson
Born4 February 1974 (1974-02-04) (age 47)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportPara equestrian
Event(s)Para dressage
Medal record
Paralympic Games
2000 SydneyMixed dressage championship grade I
2000 SydneyMixed dressage freestyle grade I
2000 SydneyMixed dressage team open
2004 AthensIndividual championship test grade I
2004 AthensIndividual freestyle test grade I
2004 AthensTeam
2008 BeijingIndividual championship test grade Ib
2008 BeijingIndividual freestyle test grade Ib
2008 BeijingTeam
2012 LondonTeam
2016 RioIndividual freestyle test grade Ib
2012 LondonIndividual championship test grade Ib
2016 RioIndividual championship test grade Ib
2012 LondonIndividual freestyle test grade Ib

Biography

Pearson was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita and first came to public attention in 1980 when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher carried him up stairs in 10 Downing Street having awarded him a 'Children of Courage' medal.

Pearson turned professional after he was inspired by the Atlanta Olympics. He won three gold medals in the championship dressage, freestyle dressage, and team dressage events at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics. He won gold in the team dressage event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, silver in the championship dressage and bronze in the freestyle.[1]

He noted after his failure to win gold in the freestyle competition in London that he had been voted down by the British judge but said that he would compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, on a different horse.[2]

Competition record
Competition Venue Year Gold Silver Bronze Total
World Championships Denmark 1999 3 0 0 3
Paralympics Sydney, Australia 2000 3 0 0 3
European Championships Portugal 2002 3 0 0 3
World Championships Belgium 2003 2 0 0 2
Paralympics Athens, Greece 2004 3 0 0 3
European Championships Hungary 2005 1 2 0 3
World Championships Hartpury, United Kingdom 2007 3 0 0 3
Paralympics Beijing, China 2008 3 0 0 3
World Championships Kentucky, United States 2010 3 0 0 3
Paralympics London, United Kingdom 2012 1 1 1 3
World Championships Normandy, France 2014 3 0 0 3
European Championships Deauville, France 2015 1 2 0 3
Paralympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2016 1 1 0 2
Paralympics total 11 2 1 14
World Championship total 14 0 0 14
European Championships total 5 4 0 9
Overall total 30 6 1 37

Honours

Pearson was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University in July 2005.[3]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours for services to disabled sports,[4] Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism and to disabled sport,[5] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism and to disabled sport.[6][7] He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.[8]

Personal life

Pearson runs his own dressage yard in Staffordshire and teaches many around the country. Lee Pearson was born in Cheddleton, England.

See also

References
  1. "Paralympics 2012: Lee Pearson takes dressage bronze". BBC Sport. 3 September 2012.
  2. BBC Sport – Paralympics 2012: Lee Pearson takes dressage bronze
  3. "lee pearson results dressage horse disabled mbe obe". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  4. "No. 56070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2000. p. 21.
  5. "No. 57509". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2004. p. 12.
  6. "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 8.
  7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/31_01_08_honours.pdf
  8. "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N2.
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