John McAvoy, a Nike-sponsored Ironman triathlete, was serving two life sentences for armed robbery when he broke multiple indoor rowing world records. His story of redemption is featured in the new book Behind the Brilliance by Paul Zanon and Connie Henry MBE, which profiles 15 UK sports stars who overcame extreme adversity.
From Crime to World Records
McAvoy was raised by a notorious south London crime family. His stepfather was one of Britain's most prolific armed robbers. McAvoy bought his first gun at age 16. In 2005, aged 22, he was arrested by armed police during a foiled heist and given two life sentences. Three years into his sentence at HMP Belmarsh, a friend's death fleeing a robbery in the Netherlands changed everything. McAvoy recalls: 'Everyone I'd looked up to as a kid were either rotting away in prison or dead. I knew that night I'd never commit a crime again.'
He started using the prison gym's indoor rowing machine. Within 18 months, McAvoy broke three indoor rowing world records and eight British records, including the longest continuous row of 45 hours. His psychological transformation and dedication to sport led to his parole and release in 2012. Now a professional endurance athlete, he is the world's only Nike-sponsored Ironman triathlete and uses his platform for prison reform and youth outreach.
Other Athletes' Adversity
The book also features Dame Denise Lewis, whose mother Joan came to the UK from Jamaica aged 10 and gave birth to Denise at 17. Living initially in a hostel, Joan worked multiple jobs. Lewis says: 'Those early values helped me a lot when I found my sport. The work ethic of someone migrating from a different country who worked hard and did everything to make sure we never went short.'
Javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread, abandoned as a baby, spent her first 14 years in care. Her athletic talents were recognised at school, leading her to join Thurrock Harriers, where she met national javelin coach Margaret Whitbread. Margaret invited her on family holidays and later adopted her. Whitbread won two Olympic medals, plus gold at the 1987 World Championships and 1986 European Championships, with a world record throw of 77.44m. She says: 'Sport could take me into the future, taking me beyond that place of fear of being imprisoned in the care system.'
Colin Jackson, a two-time World Champion and former 110m hurdles world record holder, struggled with bulimia and anorexia while at the top of his game. He says: 'Obsession has its levels and I was just over the other side of obsession. Although I was never going to take drugs, I was controlling how much food I had.' In 2017, he publicly came out as gay and now advocates for men's mental health.
Daley Thompson, one of the greatest decathletes, experienced childhood poverty and racial prejudice in Notting Hill. His father was murdered when he was 12. He channeled that hardship into an unprecedented decade of dominance, holding all four major titles simultaneously. He credits his early coach Bob Mortimer as an informal father figure. Thompson says: 'Like most of the things that happened to me in life, it was pure luck. The coach is supposed to help the person they are coaching to grow. Bob took that to heart and all the people he coached, he made them part of his family.'
Other sports stars in the book include six-times gold medal-winning paralympic athlete David Weir, former footballers Katie Chapman and Andy Sinton, ex-boxers Michael Watson and Jane Couch, boxing manager Frank Warren, ex-rugby league player Jason Robinson, ultra-marathon winner Jasmin Paris, former track and field athlete Sebastian Coe, and World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman (the only non-UK inclusion).
Book Details
Behind The Brilliance by Connie Henry MBE and Paul Zanon (published by Mirror Books, £10.99) is on sale now. Proceeds go to Behind the Brilliance Giving CIC, which supports sports-based community-led programmes creating opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
