Danny Crates

Who is Danny Crates?

Daniel "Danny" Brian Crates is a former British athlete, who specialised in 800m sprinting. He is the Paralympic world record holder in this event, and won gold medals in a number of international competitions, including the Paralympic Games. He also plays competitive rugby and is a qualified diving instructor.

Crates was born in Orsett, Essex. He took up athletics after losing his right arm in a car accident while in Australia in 1994. He competed in T46 events and represented Britain at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney – winning the bronze medal in the 400m sprint, and at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens where he won gold in the 800m.

After Sydney, Crates switched from the 400m to the 800m, in which he holds the world record with a time of 1:53.27 set in 2004 at the AAA Championships.

Crates has also won gold in the 800m race at the European Championships in 2003, and again in 2005. He won gold in the same category at the World Indoor Championships in 2003. He had previously won gold running 400m at the European Championships in 2001.