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UK Wedding News

21/08/2013

Paralympian Dances For The First Time At Wedding

A record-breaking Paralympian reduced his wedding guests to tears after he stood from his wheelchair to have his first dance with his new wife, The Times has reported.

Nathan Stephens, 25, lost both his legs in an accident when he was nine-years-old. He has competed in three Paralympics since then, but has previously not been able to use prosthetic legs due to the discomfort they cause.

However, the paper said Mr Stephens was determined to stand and dance with his wife on their wedding day.

Stephens, and his wife, 26-year-old Charlene Beard, had practiced their first dance in secret for eight months in the run up to their wedding. At their reception, Mr Stephens left the room in his wheelchair, only to return moments later on two feet, surprising many of the guests in attendance.

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The couple danced a routine to 'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz.

Following the dance, Mr Stephens said: "My older brother Andrew burst into tears, I think everyone was crying. I have not worn my legs for years and most people at the reception had never seen me standing up out of my wheelchair.

"We knew it would be a spectacular start to our night. I was more nervous walking on to the dance floor than when I competed in the London Olympics. But we had rehearsed so well it went off like a dream.

"I wanted to dance with Charlene more than anything. I was adamant I was going to do it on my legs and if I set my mind to something I always get there."

Mr Stephens, who once held a world record in javelin, lost both his legs after he fell under a freight train. At the age of 16, he broke the British senior records in javelin, discus and shot put, before going on to represent Great Britain in the 2006 Winter Paralympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics.

He proposed to his partner at the London 2012 Games.

They married last Saturday at the Celtic Manor Golf Resort in Newport, South Wales.

(JP/CD)

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"A record-breaking Paralympian reduced his wedding guests to tears after he stood from his wheelchair to have his first dance with his new wife, The Times has reported."