Darren Kenny OBE (born 17 March 1970) is a British road and track racing cyclist and Paralympian. Kenny's results have made him one of his sport's biggest stars; his dominance over multiple Paralympics gave rise to his nickname of 'Daz the Destroyer'.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Darren Kenny | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Daz the Destroyer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 March 1970 Salisbury, England, United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Track & Road | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amateur team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 - 2009 | Dave Mellor Cycles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Darren Kenny OBE retired from competition in 2013. He is now the founder/owner of Estrella
Career
editBorn in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Kenny now lives in Verwood, Dorset.[2] Having been involved in cycling since he was young, Kenny started racing at the age of eleven. In 1988, at the age of 19, an accident at the Tour of Ireland whilst descending the Wicklow Gap looked likely to have ended his career. He had damaged his neck, but did not realise the extent of the damage at the time.[1] A series of accidents after that, notably tripping over a black cat whilst working as a milkman in Bournemouth,[3] exacerbated his condition, as Kenny put it: "until I was just lying on the sofa putting on weight and on heavy medication."[4]
At the age of 30, Kenny returned to cycling, initially to improve his fitness, but he soon began racing once more.[1] Encouraged by a friend, Kenny contacted British Cycling to find out more about Paralympics racing. He competed at the British National Track Championships, achieving some good times, he was invited onto the Paralympic squad.[4]
In January 2008, Kenny was nominated for "Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the previous year.[5]
Kenny managed to set a new world record in the preliminary round of the Individual pursuit (CP 3) at the 2008 Paralympics.[6] The new record was 5.812 seconds faster than his own previous world record.[7]
Kenny was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to disabled sport.[8] Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by Bournemouth University in 2009 and an Honorary Degree Masters in Science by Brighton University.
Awards include: Variety Club Disabled Sportsman 2004, BBC South Sports Personality of the Year 2005, BBC South West Paralympian of the Year 2008, BBC South Disabled Sports Personality of the Year 2004, Sports Journalist Award for Disabled Sportsman of the Year.
Results
edit- 2004
Gold, Kilo, Paralympics, Athens- Gold, Pursuit, Paralympics, Athens
Silver, Combined Road Race and Time Trial, Paralympics, Athens
- 2005
- World Para-Cycling Best Hour Performance (C3): 41.817 km
- Gold, 200m, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Kilo, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Pursuit, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Team Sprint, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Road Race, World Disability Championships
- Silver, Time Trial, World Disability Championships
- 2006
- Gold, Kilo, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Pursuit, World Disability Championships
- Silver, Time Trial, World Disability Championships
- Silver, Road Race, World Disability Championships
- 2007
- Gold, Kilo, World Disability Championships
- Gold, Pursuit, World Disability Championships
Bronze, Time Trial, World Disability Championships- Bronze, Road Race
- 2008
- Gold Men's 1km time trial (CP 3), Paralympics, Beijing
- Gold Men's team sprint (LC1–4 CP3/4), Paralympics, Beijing (with Mark Bristow and Jody Cundy)
- Gold Individual pursuit (CP 3), Paralympics, Beijing
- Gold Men's road race (LC 3–4/CP 3), Paralympics, Beijing
- Silver Men's road time trial (CP 3), Paralympics, Beijing
- 2009
- World Para-Cycling hour record (C3): 40.516 km
- 2012
- Silver Mixed Team Sprint (C1-5), Paralympics, London[9]
- Bronze Individual pursuit (C 3), Paralympics, London[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c "BBC Dorset - People - Darren Kenny". BBC. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Athlete Biography - KENNY Darren". Beijing Paralympics official website. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008.
- ^ "London 2012 Paralympics: Darren Kenny driven by Lance Armstrong's mantra". telegraph.co.uk. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ a b Chris Sidwells (4 August 2008). "Around Poole Harbour With Darren Kenny". Cycling Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Laureus World Sports Awards, St. Petersburg 2008". Dareen Kenny official website. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Men's Individual Pursuit (CP 3) Qualifying" (PDF). 2008GamesBeijing.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
- ^ "Kenny's record could go in final". China.org.cn. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 10.
- ^ "Mixed C1 to 5 Team Sprint". LOCOG. 2 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ^ "Men's Ind.C3 Pursuit". LOCOG. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.