Claire Lomas is a paraplegic sportswoman and campaigner, who serves as an inspiration to all in overcoming adversity and achieving monumental feats. After a horse-riding accident robbed Claire of the active life she knew, Claire refused to accept the word can’t and has gone on to become a fundraiser, campaigner and most impressively, an award-winning athlete, once again. Now travelling the world sharing her story to inspire others, Claire is revered for her speaking engagements, injecting humour, motivation and powerful storytelling into every keynote speech.
May 6th 2007 was a fateful day etched into Claire’s memory forever. A professional event rider, Claire was competing in the Osberton Horse Trials when a freak incident saw her collide with a tree, and her life changed irreversibly. The accident left her with a list of catastrophic injuries, including a fractured neck, dislocated back and pneumonia. Paralysed from the chest down, and unable to maintain the life she loved, Claire was undeterred and committed to rehabilitation, a positive mental attitude and summoned the inner strength to establish a new normal. Inspired by the other paralysed people Claire encountered on her journey to recovery, she decided to embark on a list of seemingly impossible challenges to raise awareness and funds for a cure for paralysis. In 2012 she became the first person to walk the London Marathon in the ReWalk robotic suit, over the course of seventeen gruelling days, raising an enormous £210,000 for Spinal Research.
Motivated by the gravity of her marathon achievement, Claire has continued to achieve the impossible, completing the Great North Run, a British Superbike lap challenge and most recently, began training for her Private Pilots License, amongst numerous other epic achievements. Not only has Claire’s incredible journey been recognised with an MBE, but she has also had the honour of lighting the Paralympic cauldron in Trafalgar Square and winning the 2012 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Award for Inspiration.
She has also become highly in demand as an events speaker and presenter, having appeared on ITV's Lorraine where she discusses with the panel: how accessible is Britain? As a wheelchair user, Claire has been campaigning to make public transport more accessible for those with additional needs. Speaking candidly and humorously about her accident and the events that followed, has led Claire to become one of the most inspirational speakers available for all clients, including the NHS, the British Government and Sainsbury’s.
Books
The Bigger Picture
Finding My Feet
How to hire Claire Lomas
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Claire Lomas for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Claire Lomas’ official speaking topics are listed below:
- Mental Health - Claire talks openly about mental health, not only how she turned the corner following a catastrophic injury but the journey she has been on with her husband, Dan, after he was diagnosed with severe OCD. She powerfully explores the difficulties and complexities of mental health illnesses from both prospectives, and how their approach to recovery was very different. Dan has been a key member of Claire’s challenges and supported Claire during some of the devastating days in the early days post injury but then roles reversed and she helped Dan. Although there were times where their marriage has been hanging on by a thread due to the impact of a mental illness, this has been teamwork at its best.
- Diversity & Inclusion - Diversity and Inclusion is another theme Claire is passionate about. Developing a culture where disabled people feel included, valued and supported is certainly advancing but there is room for improvement. It is through the various adaptions and inclusivity that Claire has this incredible story to share; she can fly or ride a motorbike without even looking like she has a disability and complete marathons with the mass participants yet the most basic of tasks can still be a struggle, such as using public transport or entering a building. Claire can tailor her presentation to include the positivity that diversity and inclusion can bring as well as the unconscious bias against those with a disability. Unconscious bias against disabled people appeared to be higher than any other social group, in fact one in three people tend to think of disabled people as not as productive as everyone else. Claire's session will help people see past a disability. 'Diversity is a fact and Inclusion is an act.'
- Wellbeing
- Motivation
- Overcoming Adversity
- Disability
- Team Work
- Inspiration
- Change
- Goal Setting
- Resilience
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"Thank you for following up, we honestly loved having Claire there! No feedback needed whatsoever - she was FAB!" - Secret Escapes
"Claire was fantastic. Very engaging and funny whilst telling her story. Everyone I spoke to was incredibly inspired and thoroughly enjoyed her talk." - Ellie, Operations Manager, Clifford Chase LLP
"I was lucky enough to see Claire speak ... inspirational, impressive and engaging. They also pitched it perfectly for their audiences. Please pass on our huge thanks to Claire. I said at the time that she had inspired me to challenge myself – I haven't decided what that challenge is going to be yet, but there will be something..." - Anna, Head of Reward and Benefits, Clifford Chase LLP
"The event was a complete success, our employees are extremely inspired by Claire's journey. A huge 'thank you' to Claire, the Listening Lounge was really positively received in support of Celebrity Diversity Awareness Month" - Raj, Grohe
"The session was great - Claire was absolutely brilliant and we had some really great feedback from those that attended. Her presentation fitted perfectly into the wider conversation we'd been having that week around the importance of support networks, finding that resilience and mindset to keep going and supporting others as well if they are struggling. Thanks so much for all your help in organising and please do pass on again a huge thank you to Claire" - Hattie, Junior Learning & Development Business Partner, Alvarez & Marsal Europe
"We've just come out of the session and I only have two things to say: WOW and THANK YOU!! Wow because Claire is just truly impressive and inspiring, an authentic and natural speaker, and she brought home so many key messages that we're certain will stick with our team for a long time. And thank you for the suggestion Lucy, Claire fit our program perfectly and I'm looking forward to working with Champions again in the future" - Alexandra, Google
“Always difficult to choose the right inspirational speaker for any event but trying to capture the enthusiasm of at times jaded worn out health professionals is always a challenge. Claire Lomas woke us up with her energy and enthusiasm for meeting life head on and reminded us to always remember to look at our patients that cross our path having their own individual goals and desires of what they want and need from life. A truly inspiring story. Claire left an audience in awe and admiration of what can be achieved no matter what limitations have been placed on our bodies – thank you Claire.” - Gail, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
"It was a pleasure having Claire Lomas at FutureFest; her story is inspirational and her use of innovative technology and ambitious spirit made for a wonderful addition to the festival." - Josh, FutureFest
"Claire's talk was fantastic- just what we had hoped for and more. Great feedback from everyone who attended and I don't know how we can ever top that. Thanks for demo-ing the ReWalk suit and for tailoring your content to our audience. Perfect". - Mark, Kennedys Law
"Claire opened our NHS Leadership conference with her amazing and inspiring story. The audience, a mix of NHS leaders, future leaders and academics listened, laughed, cried and were all able to take something away from Claire’s session, whether it be personal or professional. Claire gave us a great insight into not only her personal story, but also her experiences of care and rehab in the NHS. This motivated delegates to ensure Claire’s experiences will inspire continual improvement of care quality and patient experience. We are so pleased Claire took the time to speak to us, the feedback from all in the room was unanimously positive, and she set the tone for a fabulous day." - Elizabeth, NHS Leadership Academy
"Claire seemed to enjoy it too, and a fair few people stayed behind afterwards to talk to her and buy one of her books, and all in all we were very happy her and Champions too of course." - Jimmy, The 3aaa County Ground
"Claire joined our Christmas Conference whilst onboard a cruise to speak to 175 delegates. She spoke eloquently & passionately and came across as a wonderfully inspiring, honest, warm, down to earth & incredidbly driven person and all all credit to her for enduring the ship swaying during her presentation amidst some rough seas! Her time with us was very well received by all and was the icing on the cake to a very successful conference." - Andrew
"Claire’s moving story brought so much inspiration to our staff. Her passion for life and humour made her presentation great to listen to. The feedback we received from staff was overwhelming. Claire made an impact on everyone at BDHT." - Shirley, BDHT
"Wow. That's pretty much all I need to say (but for the sake of LinkedIn I will expand!) We hired Claire as an after-dinner speaker for a client thank you event we hosted at the Space Centre. She was warm and engaging throughout the evening and her address was motivating and deeply humbling at the same time… As a speaker she was excellent and the feedback we have had from clients has been superb. Thank You Claire, we would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone." - Nick, Ivanhoe Financial Planning
- 2017 - Awarded an MBE
- 2013 - Cycled from Nottingham to London using a handbike
- 2012 - Lit the Paralympic Cauldron
- 2012 - Awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award
- 2012 - Named Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year
- 2012 - Won Inspirational Fundraiser at the Inspiration Awards for Women
- 2012 - Awarded the Virgin Trophy by Holly Branson
- 2012 - Completed the London Marathon in the ReWalk robotic suit
