Age: 42
Home town: Doncaster
Classification: F51 Club Throw
A former army civil servant, Butterfield first tried her hand at wheelchair basketball before transitioning to athletics with immediate success. In 2014 on her international debut, the Glasgow-based athlete won European club throw gold, which was followed by world gold just over 12 months later.
Butterfield’s meteoric rise continued as she retained her European crown and also obliterated the world record with a mark of 22.75m in Grosseto, Italy, in 2016.
At the Paralympic Games in Rio, Butterfield won gold in the F51 club throw with yet another world record – despite nursing a shoulder injury.
But with injury problems continuing the following year, as the Scot finished in fourth place at the London 2017 World Championships.
Butterfield added two more silver medals to her collection, first at the 2018 European Championships and then just over a year later at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai.
Butterfield was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours.
Major Results
2016 Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- F51 Club Throw: Gold
2019 World Para Athletics World Championships, Dubai, UAE
- F51 Club Throw: Silver
2018 World Para Athletics European Championships, Berlin, Germany
- F51 Club Throw: Silver
2016 IPC Athletics European Championships, Grosseto, Italy
- F32/51 Club Throw: Gold
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, Doha, Qatar
- F32/51 Club Throw: Gold
- F52 Discus: Bronze
2014 IPC Athletics European Championships, Swansea, Wales
- F32/51 Club Throw: Gold
Courtesy of ParalympicsGB
Twitter: @Jo_shuni
Instagram: jobutterfield