Athlete on top of the world after crash fightback

A successful amateur runner, he woke up in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital to be told that both his legs had been crushed in the crash and his left knee ripped apart, with three out of the four ligaments broken.

However, the father-of-two has not only learned to walk again but has surpassed his wildest expectations when he won the gold medal in the Paratriathlon World Championships at London's Hyde Park.

Just 18 months after taking up the triathlon, Mr Judge swam 400m, cycled 10km and ran 3.5km in a time of 37mins and 50 seconds to take home the title of World Champion.

He said: "I'm ecstatic, although I'm still coming to terms with it.

"I pulled out all the stops, but it was very hard to do. Training hard throughout the winter, I wondered if it would be worth it, but now I'm glad I went through that pain and hardship."

The 37-year-old grew up in Bawtry, near Doncaster, and worked in the pits in nearby Harworth and Maltby, fixing machinery, before later going on to work for various companies in health and safety.

A keen runner with the Killamarsh Kestrels, he completed 10k runs in impressive times of under 37 minutes before his accident in April 2002.

Mr Judge, who now lives in Eckington with his wife Ruth and children Robert, five, and Susannah, two, said: "I was on my own. There was no one else on the road and I wasn't speeding.

"My wheels skidded on some tram lines, which sent me out of control and sideways into a pole at 40mph.

"The car bent in half, my legs were crushed in the bend and I was stuck. Once the fire brigade arrived it took them an hour to cut me out of the wreckage".

Surgeons at the Northern General Hospital worked on him to save his life and do what they could to save his legs, but there was always a possibility that he might never walk again."

He spent four weeks in hospital and had to return several times afterwards, for a series of operations and gruelling physiotherapy sessions.

The broken ligaments in his left knee were replaced with new ones – from pigs – and he also had to stretch the bone in his right leg by four inches, at a painful 1mm a day.

Mr Judge said: "Sixteen months after the accident all the fixators were removed and I had two legs that I could just about stand up on.

"I drove myself out to Rother Valley Country Park, where my new goal would be to walk around the two lakes, a total of three miles. My first attempt was less than half a mile of extreme pain, exhaustion and tears.

"I went twice a week to Rother Valley, walking with my crutches, putting up with the pain and pushing myself even when my legs and feet were bleeding."

Over the next few years Mr Judge got married, had his children, and went back to work. Each year his legs became a little stronger and, in 2009, he decided to try a triathlon.

He said: "I could swim, I could cycle to some extent and, although I couldn't run, I thought I'd give it a go.

"I did my first Paratriathlon last June, when I won my group.

"That was all I was going to do, but everyone was so friendly that I continued and also did races in Bedford and London, which I won as well.

"From then I decided that I was really going to take it quite seriously."

Mr Judge also rejoined Killamarsh Kestrels and gradually, was able to run again. He said: "When I'm running, I look down at my legs and feet and I smile. Now, I feel really lucky when I go running.

"While I'm in training I go swimming before work; sometimes I cycle to work, and at lunchtime I go for a run. After work, I get home and might put the kids to bed before going off for a run or a cycle."

He added: "I've got the British Championships races in August and I'll keep my training up until I've completed those. Come September, I'll give it a bit of a rest."

HYDE PARK EVENT SETS RECORD

Last week's World Championship race in Hyde Park was the largest Paratriathlon ever to take place and featured athletes from across the UK and Europe as well as from Canada, Brazil, the USA and Australia.

Whereas a "typical" Paratriathlon includes a 750m swim, a 20k cycle and a 5k run, the "super sprint" event at Hyde Park required athletes to compete over shorter distances of a 400m swim, a 10k cycle and a 3.5km run.

Although the triathlon is not currently a Paralympic sport, officials are applying for it to be included