In the quiet country village of Nailsworth in the Cotswolds stand two shiny post boxes. They were painted gold by Royal Mail to celebrate local hero Pete Reed, who won gold in the men’s four rowing at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Although Reed was born in Seattle, USA, his family moved to England several months later, and he grew up in Nailsworth, attending a local school and later college in nearby Cirencester.
Reed went on to win gold at three successive Olympic Games: first in Beijing in 2008, then in London in 2012, and again in Rio in 2016. He also won five gold medals at the World Rowing Championships. He had been training for the 2020 Tokyo Games but retired beforehand.
Reed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to rowing.
In 2019, the Triple Olympic gold medallist announced via Instagram that he had become paralyzed from the chest down after suffering a spinal stroke. Since then, Reed has become a vocal advocate for disability access and inclusion.
