“I feel absolutely amazing. It shows disability is no barrier to achievement.”

A former soldier with a daredevil spirit, the 34 year old Briton, Kevin Alderton has set a new downhill speed skiing record by a blind person. Guided by radio speakers, Alderton skied down the Les Arcs in France at a speed of about 162 kilometres per hour. Known as Kevin ‘Cannonball’, he was a keen skier before the gang attack in London eight years ago. He was left with 4% vision. Speaking about his experience after the incident, he says, “The blindness was absolutely devastating. To live with a disability is hard enough. To try to readjust your life in every way is just huge.” Nevertheless, he took up skiing, again. He was offered support from a U.K. based charity St. Dunstan's for blinded ex-servicemen. “They put me back on skis and back on the road to where I am now,” said Alderton.

He has been selected for the ‘Great Britain Adaptive Ski Team Development Squad’. He also hopes to compete in the 2008 World Championships and the 2010 Paralympics in Canada.

His aim? “If I can inspire somebody to do something they would not normally do, my aims have been achieved,” says Alderton