Rachel Morris (cyclist)

Rachel Morris MBE (born on 25 April 1979) is a British Paralympic sportswoman who has won Paralympic gold medals in both cycling and rowing. She took a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics as a handcyclist, and eight years later at Rio she won gold in the women's single sculls as a rower. She lost both her legs to Complex regional pain syndrome and cycles, in part, to manage the pain. She was born in Guildford, Surrey.

Morris won two gold medals at the 2007 World Para-Cycling Championships in Bordeaux, France; she won the time trial and road race events in the women's category B races. This made her the first ever British hand-cyclist to be crowned a double World Champion.

Morris was named to the team for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, where she competed in the road race and time trial in the HC A/B/C disability category for athletes who use a handcycle. She finished sixth in the road race but won the gold medal in the time trial; her time of 20 minutes 57.09 seconds was nearly three minutes faster than her nearest competitor.

At the 2010 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships held in Baie-Comeau, Canada, Morris won two gold medals. Her first came in the H3 category individual time trial; she won the event by over two minutes in a time of 23 minutes 34.71 seconds. Morris won her second gold medal in the road race, beating silver medallist Sandra Graf by over 80 seconds.

Morris was selected to compete for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where she was aiming to defend her title in the time trial and also to compete in the road race. In July 2012 her participation at the Games was placed in doubt after she was hit by a car during a time trial near her home in Farnham, Surrey. The incident left her with whiplash and shoulder injuries. In addition to her physical injuries Morris' handcycle was damaged in the crash, meaning she had to use her competition bike for training and order a new one for use in the Paralympics. She recovered in time to compete in her first event at the Games on 5 September.

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