In May 2001 Paula, an elite marathon runner training for the GB national triathlon team and a serving police officer with the Metropolitan Police, was knocked off her bike whilst training. She subsequently went on to compete in the London Marathon in a wheelchair (making her the only person to have run and pushed the London Marathon), and came second. She also competed as a wheelchair triathlete at an international level and continued working as a policewoman, becoming a DI and working in the murder squad, internal affairs and counter terrorism. In 2005 she was awarded the MBE for her services to policing.
Truly an inspiration to us all, this was not enough for Paula. In August last year, Paula Craig attempted to become the first person with a complete spinal cord injury to swim the 22 miles of the Channel without a wetsuit, taking on the challenge as part of a Relay Channel Swim team to mark the 20th anniversary since she was injured. It seems that no challenge is too big for her.
Source: https://www.aspire.org.uk/news/paula-craig-mbe-to-swim-english-channel
