Introduction
Stephen Murray (born 9 January 1980 in Newcastle, England) is a former BMX Dirt rider.
On Friday 22 June 2004, at the [AST Dew Tour] BMXDirt Finals in Baltimore, Murray took a catastrophic fall attempting a double backflip on the final jump in the dirt section. He suffered career-ending injuries to his spinal cord and vertebrae and is paralyzed below the shoulders.
Recent reports have shown that he can shrug his shoulders, move his toes, his index fingers, and his thumbs.
Murray was a seven-time expert British champion and six-time UK National champion before the age of 16. During his professional BMX career, Murray was known for his double back flips, 360 back flips, and turndown back flips.He won the gold medal in BMX Dirt in the Summer 2001 X Games and won gold medals in BMX Dirt at the Gravity Games in back-to-back years (2001 and 2002). He was nominated for ESPN 'BMX rider of the year'.
Murray is no longer married, but has full custody of his two sons. He resides in Evesham, England
Since the accident, Murray worked closely with the doctor who treated Christopher Reeve after the actor's accident left him quadriplegic. He now has limited movement in his toes and is also gaining more movements in his hands. He hopes to move to a hand-operated wheelchair in the future.
More recently, Murray has been on the True Geordie Podcast to talk more openly about his experience, and the journey of his life. His motivations and dealing with the crash are explored too, in a long but successful interview. In 2017, a book talk about his life : Staying Strong: An Immensely Human Story (with John F. McDonald, Lee Martin).
X Games Medals
Summer X Games
- 2001 Philadelphia - X Games VII: BMX Dirt: Gold medal (1st)
Gravity Games
- 2001 Gravity Games BMX Dirt champion
- 2002 Gravity Games BMX Dirt champion
ESPN
- 'BMX rider of the year'
BMX Championships
- seven-time expert British champion
- six-time UK National champion