David Henson

David Henson, MBE (born 15 September 1984) is a British parasport athlete competing mainly in T42 classification sprint events. He has represented Britain at the Invictus Games, World and European Championships and in 2016 he was selected for the Summer Paralympics in Rio, winning a bronze medal in the 200m sprint (T42).

Personal history Henson was born in Southampton, England in 1984. He was educated at St George Catholic College in Southampton before going to University of Hertfordshire to study mechanical engineering. After leaving university he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to undertake his initial training as an Army officer.

In February 2010 Henson was moved to the bomb disposal unit of the Royal Engineers, before being deployed to Afghanistan in October. Within 37 minutes of the incident he was on the operating table in Camp Bastion, before being flown back to England to receive treatment in Birmingham the following day. Following these life saving operations, Henson had his right leg amputated above the knee and his left leg amputated through the knee.

Henson returned to education after his injuries and took a master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London, focusing on amputee biomechanics for the improvement of prosthetic limbs. In July 2016 Henson again faced Whitehead at the London Grand Prix, finishing third with a new personal best of 25.05.

At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Henson entered both the 100m and 200m sprints. In the heats of the 200m sprint he temporarily lost balance on his running blades, slipping into an outside track. Fortunately for Henson he did not impeded the other competitors and was able to recover and qualify for the final. The final saw Henson win a Paralympic bronze, after coming from the back of the field in the final 50 metres to power through the field to finish behind fellow British teammate Whitehead and South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu. In the 100 metres, as a double amputee, Henson was unable to hit his full pace, and finished fifth in the heats, failing to make the final.