Who is Sir Lee Pearson? Know about Britain's 12-time Paralympic Gold medallist

Sir Lee Pearson is one of the most successful Paralympians from Great Britain. He recently won his 12th gold medal for the country by winning the Grade II individual dressage. The gold medallist won the match with a score of 76.265. Pearson had to settle for a silver medal at the most recent Olympics, which were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after being defeated by Pepo Puch of Austria. This time in the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, the two battled it out once more, but the score of 73.441 for Puch on Sailor's Blue was just good enough for second place.

Sir Pearson was joined on the platform by his fellow countrywoman Georgia Wilson, who is from Abergele. Wilson was called up to her first Paralympics two weeks ago to replace eight-time champion Sophie Christiansen, whose horse was deemed unfit for competition. She seized the opportunity with both hands, winning a bronze medal in her first Paralympics match.

The win put Pearson into the third position on Great Britain's all-time list of Paralympic gold medalists, ahead of swimmer David Roberts and wheelchair racer Tanni Grey-Thompson, and behind only Mike Kenny and Dame Sarah Storey. He now holds a total of 15 Paralympic medals from six successive games. Apart from this, over the course of his career, Sir Lee Pearson has won an overall 30 gold medals at European, World and Paralympic levels.

Sir Lee Pearson dedicates victory to deceased horse 

The 47-year-old Paralympian dedicated his victory to his horse Breezer, whom he nurtured on his own from birth. Pearson got emotional after his last horse Gentleman whom he rode in Beijing and London died in June 2021. Sir Lee also is no longer limited to parenting horses. Earlier last year, he took on the additional responsibility of becoming a single parent to a 15-year-old foster son.

Thursday was a wonderful day for Team Great Britain, as they earned 5 gold medals out of a total of 6 gold medals, moving them into the second position on the medal tally with 17 medals, trailing China, who has 23 medals with 8 gold medals.

Image credits: Paralympic.org