Joe Townsend

Joseph Townsend (born 27 March 1988) is a British paratriathlete who competes in the PTWC classification. Townsend has won European and world medals as well as becoming Commonwealth Champion in 2018.[4] He represented Great Britain at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, where he finished sixth.[5] Townsend has won the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships for four consecutive years- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. He lost both legs whilst serving in Afghanistan, after stepping on an IED in 2008. Joe Townsend is based in Eastbourne, England where he was born.[1]

Joe Townsend
Townsend with Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, in 2013
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Townsend
NationalityBritish
Born (1988-03-27) 27 March 1988[1]
Eastbourne, England
Medal record
Men's para triathlon
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold CoastPTWC Triathlon[2]
Men's paratriathlon
Representing  Great Britain
GBR Paratriathlon National Championships
2013 Men's PTWC
2014 Men's PTWC
2015 Men's PTWC
2016 Men's PTWC
2017 Men's PTWC
2018 Men's PTWC
2019 Men's PTWC
Men's para athletics
Representing  United Kingdom
Invictus Games
2014 London100m Men Wheel IT4[3]
2014 London200m Men Wheel IT4
2014 London400m Men Wheel IT4
2014 London1500m Men Wheel IT4

Personal life

Townsend was born and brought up in Eastbourne, England[1] and attended Ratton School.[6] He has a wife and child. Townsend is a UK Sport Lottery Funded paratriathlete and was based at the Loughborough Triathlon Performance Centre before he moved back to his hometown of Eastbourne after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.[1]

Military service

Townsend served in the 40 Commando whilst in the Helmand province of Afghanistan during Operation Herrick VII. On 8 February 2008, he stepped on a Taliban improvised explosive device in a field in the Upper Gereshk Valley whilst leading his patrol (from Delta Company) back to FOB Gibraltar. The base, built in 2007, was nicknamed 'the mouth of hell' by Taliban fighters and Townsend was one of 14 to be seriously injured there.[7] He was then taken to Camp Bastion (where he underwent 14 hours of live-saving surgery), before being flown to the Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where, what remained of his right leg was treated and left leg was amputated as it could not be saved.[8] Townsend spent a total of five and half months including 6 weeks in intensive care at the hospital.

Rehabilitation

In July 2008, Townsend left the hospital to go to the Headley Court a Defense Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey. He spent a total of 3 years at the centre, learning how to use his new prosthetic legs, whilst also undertaking further surgery at the hospital, receiving over 50 operations to date. At the rehabilitation centre, he was encouraged to compete in the Ironman Triathlon - 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling and 26 miles of running. The triathlon had never been completed by a disabled athlete at the time.[9]

Sporting career

Having taken up paratriathlon in 2011 as part of his rehabilitation, Townsend went on to complete the Ironman UK triathlon in Bolton in July 2011 and then in 2012, he competed at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, where he finished second in the disability category.[10] Townsend's first taste of international triathlon came in 2012 at the Eilat ETU Triathlon European Championships where he won a bronze medal.[11] In 2013, he competed at his first GBR Paratriathlon National Championships, finishing 2nd.[12] He also won a bronze medal at the 2013 Alanya ETU Triathlon European Championships.[13] Townsend competed in the Invictus Games in 2014 and took home four gold medals from the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m disciplines on the athletics track.[14] He also took part in the cycling and power lifting events. The 2014 season also saw him win a silver medal at the Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Event[15] and three bronze medals at the Kitzbühel ETU Triathlon European Championships,[16] GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[17] and the Madrid ITU World Paratriathlon Event.[18]

Townsend achieved further triathlon success in 2015 winning two silver medals at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[19] and the Besançon ITU World Paratriathlon Event[20] and a bronze medal at the Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Event.[21] He made his Paralympic debut in triathlon at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, finishing sixth in the men's PT1 event.[22] The 2016 season saw Townsend win a gold medal at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[23] a silver medal at the Penrith ITU World Paratriathlon Event[24] and two bronze medals at the Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships[25] and Besançon ITU World Paratriathlon Event.[26] He won his first global medal with a bronze at the ITU World Championships in Rotterdam[27] in 2017 along with another gold medal at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships and silver medal at the Edmonton ITU World Paratriathlon Series.[28]

Townsend represented Team England at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, winning a gold medal in paratriathlon at its first time featuring in the Games. His success continued into the 2018 triathlon season as he made the podium in all of six of the competitions he entered that year winning gold at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[29] and Eton Dorney ITU Paratriathlon World Cup,[30] silver at the Tartu ETU Triathlon European Championships[31] and bronze at the Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series,[32] Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series[33] and ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast.[34] Townsend was able to deliver several top five finishes in 2019 including victory in the PTWC Men’s races at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[35] and the Tokyo ITU Paratriathlon World Cup.[36]

Paratriathlon Competitions

The following list of results.[37] Unless indicated otherwise, the competitions are paratriathlons.

Date Competition Rank
2019-09-14 Valencia ETU Paratriathlon European Championships 6
2019-09-01 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne 4
2019-08-17 Tokyo ITU Paratriathlon World Cup 1
2019-06-28 Groupe Copley World Paratriathlon Series Montreal 4
2019-05-27 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships 1
2019-04-27 Milan ITU World Paratriathlon Series 5
2018-09-15 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast 3
2018-07-28 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships 1
2018-07-19 Tartu ETU Triathlon European Championships 2
2018-06-30 Iseo-Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series 3
2018-05-28 Eton Dorney ITU Paratriathlon World Cup 1
2018-05-12 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series 3
2018-04-07 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 1
2017-09-15 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam 3
2017-08-28 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships 1
2017-07-28 Edmonton ITU World Paratriathlon Series 2
2017-05-13 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series 4

DNF = Did not finish

DNS = Did not start

DSQ = Disqualified

References
  1. "Joe Townsend". British Triathlon Federation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. "Commonwealth Games:Joe Townsend & Jade Jones win Para-triathlon golds". BBC Sport. 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  3. "Day 1 Results: Athletics". Invictus Games. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. "Commonwealth Games: Joe Townsend & Jade Jones win Para-triathlon golds". BBC Sport. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. Union, International Triathlon. "Athlete Profile: Joseph Townsend H2". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  6. "Calling former Ratton School pupils: Have you celebrated career success? Join Joe Townsend in inspiring the next generation". www.eastbourneherald.co.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  7. Townsend, Mark (26 October 2008). "Survivors of the 'mouth of hell' back with tales of a deadly tour of duty". The Observer. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  8. Marsden, Sam (30 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Mother's shock as Royal Marine son flies into Olympic Stadium on zipwire". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  9. Marsden, Sam (30 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Mother's shock as Royal Marine son flies into Olympic Stadium on zipwire". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  10. "Joe Townsend". www.britishtriathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  11. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Paratriathlon Male TRI-1 | 2012 Eilat ETU Triathlon European Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  12. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Paratriathlon Male TRI-1 | 2013 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  13. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Paratriathlon Male TRI-1 | 2013 Alanya ETU Triathlon European Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  14. "ParalympicsGB | Joe townsend". ParalympicsGB. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  15. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2014 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  16. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2014 Kitzbühel ETU Triathlon European Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  17. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2014 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  18. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2014 Madrid ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  19. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2015 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  20. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2015 Besançon ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  21. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2015 Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  22. "Joe Townsend". British Paralympic Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  23. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2016 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  24. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2016 Penrith ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  25. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2016 Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  26. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: Men's PT1 | 2016 Besançon ITU World Paratriathlon Event". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  27. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  28. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2017 Edmonton ITU World Paratriathlon Series". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  29. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  30. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 Eton Dorney ITU Paratriathlon World Cup". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  31. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 Tartu ETU Triathlon European Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  32. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  33. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  34. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  35. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2019 GBR Paratriathlon National Championships". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  36. Union, International Triathlon. "Results: PTWC Men | 2019 Tokyo ITU Paratriathlon World Cup". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  37. Union, International Triathlon. "Triathlon.org". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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