Paralympic athlete, Sam Ruddock knowns no bounds. Despite being born with a physical disability, Sam has gone on to compete across three disciplines, cycling, sprinting and shotput at the highest level. Having overcome his physical limitations, Sam is an example of how you can defy the own odds make the most of the cards you are dealt.
Born with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, Sam’s condition has affected the lower half of his body throughout his life. Impacting his flexibility, balance and co-ordination, Sam’s passion for sports outweighed the limitations of his disability, and as a schoolboy he took part in basketball and American football. After being spotted and coached whilst studying at Loughborough University, Sam was classified by the International Paralympic committee as a T35 athlete, thus beginning his world class career.
Paralympic debut at the 2012 London Games, Sam went from amateur to world class athlete in the space of six months thanks to his unwavering dedication. Securing a world ranking of 8th would have been the peak of most sportsmen’s careers, but Sam has continued to push on from sprinting to shotput and Sam switched disciplines in 2014 with great success. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he secured sixth place overall.
But it is in the sport of para track-cycling that Sam has found his true calling, becoming the MC1 Kilometre World Champion, winning the gold medal in late 2022. He is currently in training toward the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in this fast and exhilarating sport. Much of his time is also dedicated to inspiring the next generation through his role as a School Sport Officer for Inspire Plus, where he mentors primary school children to believe in themselves. Additionally, Sam is an Athlete Mentor for the Youth Sport Trust using his experiences to promote better attendance, self-confidence and engagement in secondary schools. As a speaker, Sam supports a range of audiences with motivating talks inspired by his global career. (SWPix.com)
In January of 2021, we sat down with Sam and discussed all things motivation, mental and physical health and Tokyo 2021. Read our exclusive interview with Sam Ruddock now.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events:
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"On behalf of the Education Strategy Group we would like to thank you for providing a strong motivational keynote speech and workshop which helped to make the annual meeting an overwhelming success. The delegate's feedback indicates that your speech was “inspirational”, “uplifting (much needed)”, and “excellent”. The comments about the workshop included “Very useful” and “I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop”. With very best wishes" - Eleanor, Education Partnerships Officer, People Group, Darlington Borough Council
"I just wanted to drop you a line to say what an absolute pleasure it was to have you attend our Annual Achievement Evening. Your inspirational story and the way that you engaged with our audience – particularly in the heat and with the delays – was fantastic! I wish you well in your future career, and preparations for Tokyo! On behalf of everyone here at Harlington School, thank you for giving up your time and making our Achievement Evening such a special event."- Ms E A Horrigan, Harlington School
"I was looking for a speaker to close our Greater Manchester West Scouts Leaders Conference, The Buzz Live, and as an end to our day cascading our National Strategy 2018-23 to 150+ hardworking volunteers and the amazing work they do. Volunteers showcased their programme ideas in a marketplace which Sam was pleased to look round talking enthusiastically to our leaders and young people. I had asked him to deliver an inspiring message to the volunteers at the end of the day to send them away ready to engage the County with what they had seen. Sam blew them away. He put such energy and humour into his talk, moving round telling his story in a very physical and a very engaging way. Hearing the audience respond to his amusing journey, brimming with self-awareness and gently introducing some of the messages we had discussed, I knew he was going to be a hit and he was. The volunteers loved his message based around what he called the 3 C’s - Make a Choice/Choose, to Give yourself a Chance and Take on the Challenge and I would not hesitate to invite Sam along again." - Daniele, Greater Manchester West Scouts
"Thank you so much. Sam himself was lovely and extremely engaging with the students. His Powerpoint and his messages were excellent, he managed to tie his talk neatly in to working hard at school which was just perfect!!! I couldn't thank him enough. Thank you so much for organising for us and we would happily use you guys again in the future." – Laura, Longhill High School
"Sam was really fantastic and we have had nothing but positive feedback from all that attended. His story was inspiring and he was someone that everyone in the audience could relate to. During the ceremony, he knew how to engage with the young people, including those that were anxious about coming on to the stage to collect their awards. He was generous with his time and stayed back after the event to chat with the young people and guests. We would definitely recommend him to others looking for a motivational speaker." - Clare, Norfolk Virtual School
"Sam was able to provide a light-hearted, engaging talk to our university students, describing his journey right through from birth to competing on the world's biggest stage, the Paralympics, up until his current endeavour of winning a medal in track cycling. Sam is down to earth and was extremely relatable to our students. He informed them of what it is like to live with a disability and how being made to feel welcome by the American Football team at his university was monumental to forming friendships and building up his confidence. Our students were able to take away loads of key messages such as the importance of being approachable and adaptable to meet different people's needs." – Hannah, University of Leicester
The call with Sam went really well - he was very engaging and had some good feedback from colleagues across the business which was great. - Molly, Talent Partner, Motability
"Please pass on my personal thanks to Sam for giving such a brilliant presentation yesterday. He held an audience of lively Y9s and 10s in the palm of his hand for the whole time, and in a fun, energetic and accessible way, he conveyed some really important and inspiring messages. He was also an absolute pleasure to work with and great company. We were lucky to spend time with him and will keep an eye on his future exploits." - Stephen, Director, Bryanston Education Summit
Feedback from Virtual Events:
"Sam’s energy was incredible and very well received. We needed more time with him as he had a lot to cover in his session. Feedback from the Teams link: “Sam literally made my day, I have tried all of January to motivate myself and feel better. Coping with anxiety and intrusive thoughts I needed this push!! ( It's so funny how a little bit of movement can change your mindset immediately, give you motivation, and productivity ). Such an inspiration , you are amazing, thank, you Sam.”, “super positive chat, well done on all your achievements, Sam you are super star” and “Thank you for sharing your story, positivity and inspirational energy Sam.” " - Electrical Industries Charity
"Just to say that Sam was brilliant this morning. He pitched the talk perfectly and was extremely inspiring and down to earth. Here are some of the comments we had: 'Brilliant talk thank you Sam', 'Thank you Sam!', 'Inspirational thank you', 'Thanks Sam!' and 'Thank you very much Sam, it was really interesting to hear and inspirational!'. Can you please pass on our sincere thanks." - Jaelithe, Senior Communications Manager, Ryedale District Council
"Sam's talk was great, and it's so easy to work with Champions. You give us good recommendations of suggested speakers and were so accommodating, especially with our technical issues and problems getting external guests into our Teams links." - Sarah, HR Project Manager, Bromford
"I've just had a chance to listen to Sam on catch-up, such a brilliant, inspirational and natural speaker! Great to hear all about Sam's life and fantastic achievements. Sam, I love your three non-negotiables and about self-care, by way of caring for others! Great advice for Bromford for the months ahead and thanks for taking the time to share with us. I wish you the very best of success for the future." - Bromford
"What an amazing guy Sam is. Everyone is messaging me with comments and compliments; words such as genuine, determined, brilliant, friendly, amazing, the list goes on. The speech was very inspirational talking about resilience and determination as well as his amazing sporting story. Please pass on our thanks to Sam, he was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We will all be cheering him on in Tokyo from our sofas." - Denise, HRBS
"Please pass on our thanks to Sam, his story was great, many colleagues said they can relate to it in many ways as we have all been different in many aspects at one point in life. It has also gave many of us a chance to know how to ask for something to be explained when dealing with unknown situations. It was great." - Javier, Arelion
How to hire Sam Ruddock
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Sam Ruddock 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.
