At the age of 5, Ben was diagnosed with a congenital cataract which forced him away from the contact sports he had so far enjoyed in life. But shortly after he learnt to sail and went on to represent Wales and Great Britain.
But in September 2016 he sustained a spinal cord injury near his T6 vertebra in a cycling crash and was subsequently paralysed from the rib cage down stopping all kinds of sports including his beloved cycling and sailing as he knew it.
He was transferred to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he took part in their weekly classes, trying out rowing and finding he got the same buzz from it as he got from his beloved cycling.
From here Ben joined the Para development squad in 2017 and made his GB Rowing debut in the PR1 men’s single sculls at the 2019 World Championships, followed by a 5th place and Paralympic record in the 2020 Tokyo games.
Since he has achieved 2 world championship podiums and is heading to Paris this summer to race in the PR1 Men’s single.
