:Sam Ruddock
{{short description|British Paralympic athlete}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Sam Ruddock
| image = Sam Ruddock with coach Jim Edwards during the F35 Shot Put Final at Swansea 2014.jpg
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| caption = Ruddock with a coach during the F35 shot put final at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships.
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| fullname = Samuel Ruddock
| nickname = Sam
| nationality = British
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|02|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = Rugby, Warwickshire
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| education = International Relations (Bachelor of Arts)
| alma_mater = Loughborough University
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| country = {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
| sport = Cycling
| disability = Cerebral palsy
| disability_class = C1
| rank =
| event = Track time trial
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| club = Loughborough Students CC
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| worlds = 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships
2013 IPC Athletics World Championships
| regionals = 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships
2014 IPC Athletics European Championships
| nationals =
| olympics =
| paralympics = Rio 2016
| highestranking = UCI World Rankings C1 – 4th (2020–2021)
| pb = 1:16.671 (Kilometre TT)
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's athletics}}
{{MedalCountry|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|European Championships}}
{{MedalSilver|2016 Grosseto|Shot put – F35}}
{{MedalCompetition|Track World Championships}}
{{MedalGold|2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines|1 km time trial C1}}
{{MedalGold|2023 Glasgow|1 km time trial C1}}
{{MedalBronze|2023 Glasgow|Omnium C1}}
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Samuel Ruddock (born 18 February 1990)[http://www.paralympics.org.uk/athletes/sam-ruddock Sam Ruddock], Paralympics GB, retrieved 27 April 2025. is a Paralympic athlete who represented Great Britain in the T35 classification in 2012 in the 100 metres and in the F35 classification in 2016 in the shot put. He subsequently turned to track cycling, in which he won gold medals in the C1 classification at the 2022 and 2023 UCI World Championships.
Early life and education
Ruddock is from Rugby, Warwickshire.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140419212856/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/london2012/news/loughborough-university-sprinter-celebrates-shock-paralympic-call-up.html "Loughborough University sprinter celebrates shock Paralympic call-up"], Loughborough University, 10 July 2012, archived from [http://www.lboro.ac.uk/london2012/news/loughborough-university-sprinter-celebrates-shock-paralympic-call-up.html the original] on 19 April 2014. He was diagnosed in infancy with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that limits the coordination of his lower body.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140421081935/http://www.dkhlegacytrust.org/athletes/sam-ruddock/ Sam Ruddock], DKH Legacy Trust, 2013, archived from [http://www.dkhlegacytrust.org/athletes/sam-ruddock/ the original] on 21 April 2014.Elizabeth Hudson, [https://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/65545592 "Para-cycling Road World Cup: Sam Ruddock on the challenges of road riding with balance issues"], BBC Sport, 24 May 2023.
He was educated at Bishop Wulstan School and Rugby School,Zoe Ashton, [https://www.warwickshireworld.com/sport/other-sport/cycling-paralympian-sam-ruddock-fourth-in-world-cycling-championships-1386084 "Cycling: Paralympian Sam Ruddock fourth in world cycling championships"], Warwickshire World, 5 February 2020. where he took A-levels in English, History and Economics on a scholarship.Anoop Bhuller, [https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/school-house/education/get-to-know-six-bursary-students/ "Get To Know Six Talented Bursary Students"], Country & Town House, 2024. In school he played basketball, then rugby. He earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations at Loughborough University, where he played American football. In December 2011, athletics coach Joe McDonnell scouted him as a sprinter during an NFL-combine session, and he started full-time training in March 2012.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140419184145/http://www1.skysports.com/athletics/news/12028/9138343/game-changers-talks-to-paralympics-sprinter-sam-ruddock "Game Changers talks to Paralympics sprinter Sam Ruddock"], Sky Sports, 28 January 2014, archived from [http://www1.skysports.com/athletics/news/12028/9138343/game-changers-talks-to-paralympics-sprinter-sam-ruddock the original] on 19 April 2018.
Competitive career
Ruddock ran his first official races in April 2012 and was classified as a T35 by the International Paralympic Committee the following month. At the IPC Croatian Open, he won gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m and was ranked eighth in the world. After competing in both distances at the McCain Birmingham Games in July 2012, he was selected for the Great Britain team at the September 2012 Paralympics in London.
After the 2012 Paralympics, Ruddock transferred to the shot put. In the F35 class, he finished fifth at the 2014 IPC European Championships in Swansea and fifth at the 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha. In 2016, he won silver at the 2016 IPC European Championships in Grosseto. He was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, finishing sixth.Luis Miguel Echegaray and Rob Smyth, [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/sep/12/paralympics-2016-day-five-live-rio-games "Paralympics 2016: Ellie Simmonds wins 200m IM gold with world record – as it happened"], The Guardian, 13 September 2016.[https://web.archive.org/web/20161018210855/https://livingforsport.skysports.com/mentors/sam-ruddock Sam Ruddock], Sky Sports Living for Sport, archived from [https://livingforsport.skysports.com/mentors/sam-ruddock the original] on 18 October 2016. At the 2017 IPC World Championships in London, he placed seventh.
Ruddock transferred to track cycling in 2018, with a classification of C1. He represented Great Britain at the 2019 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn and the 2020 UCI World Championships in Milton, Ontario, where he placed fourth in the 1 km time trial. At the 2022 UCI World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, he won the 1 km time trial;[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/article/20221021-gb-cyclingteam-news-Great-Britain-Gold-Rush-on-day-two-of-the-UCI-Para-Cycling-Track-World-Championships-0 "The Great Britain Cycling Team's para squad were unstoppable on day two of the UCI Para-Cycling World Championships, taking home six gold medals and two silver"], British Cycling, 21 October 2022.[https://www.uci.org/article/six-titles-for-great-britain-on-day-two-of-the-uci-2022-para-cycling-track/Umo0GWingqRvriBPKw9cS "Six titles for Great Britain on day two of the UCI 2022 Para-cycling Track World Championships"], Union Cycliste Internationale, 21 October 2022.[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/points?person_id=872011&d=4&year=2022 2022 Points: Sam Ruddock], British Cycling, retrieved 29 April 2025. he placed first again at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow,[https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/cycling/66416683 "Cycling World Championships 2023: Sam Ruddock wins C1 1km time trial gold"], BBC Sport, 5 August 2023. where he also won bronze in Omnium.[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/points?person_id=872011&year=2023&d=4 2023 Points: Sam Ruddock], British Cycling, retrieved 29 April 2025. In 2023 he also competed for Great Britain in the {{ill|UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup|de|UCI-Paracycling-Straßen-Weltcup}} in Huntsville, Alabama.
Personal life
Ruddock has been an ambassador for Cerebral Palsy Sport and has worked with youth as an athlete mentor for the Youth Sport Trust and through Sky Sports Living for Sport and as an ambassador for Inspire+.[https://www.paralympics.org.uk/articles/i-do-believe-the-saying-if-you-dont-see-it-you-cant-be-it-sa "'I do believe the saying 'if you don't see it you can't be it{{'}}{{'}} - Sam Ruddock"], Paralympics GB, 25 October 2023. He also works with the Kadeena Cox Academy, a black cyclists' initiative.
In April 2025, he was reported missing in Las Vegas after travelling to the United States to see a WrestleMania event.Andy Giddings, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqrppev5geo "British Paralympian reported missing in Las Vegas"], BBC News, 27 April 2025.Joe Coughlan, [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/27/british-paralympian-sam-ruddock-reported-missing-in-las-vegas "British Paralympian Sam Ruddock reported missing in Las Vegas"], The Guardian, 27 April 2025. Police confirmed four days later that he had been located.Shannen Headley, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgpj8mpxp1o "Paralympian missing in Las Vegas found - police"], BBC News, 28 April 2025.Sam Joseph, [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6318646/2025/04/28/sam-ruddock-paralympian-located-las-vegas/ "Paralympian Sam Ruddock located safe after being reported missing in Las Vegas"], The Athletic (New York Times), 28 April 2025.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IPC athlete|sam-ruddock}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruddock, Sam}}
Category:Alumni of Loughborough University
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Category:Black British sportsmen
Category:Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors
Category:Paralympic athletes for Great Britain