Prince Harry Inspires a Future Paralympian

Photo Credit: Juliette Woolf/Royal Central

When he was just 14-months-old, Rio Woolf underwent a through-knee amputation. He was born without a tibia, knee or ankle joint, a rare condition called Tibial Aplasia. These days, the six-year-old is inspired by the Paralympics and, most recently, the Invictus Games, with hopes to one day become part of the games.

Royal Central recently spoke to Woolf and his mother, Juliette about meeting Prince Harry at the Invictus Games.

“Prince Harry asked me about my special leg,” Rio said proudly. “He liked the picture of Blu from the Rio movie and the Rio 2016 logo.”

Rio’s found it hard to keep up with friends because of the weight of his prosthetic leg, but certain sporting events have inspired him to look beyond his limitations.

“Rio loves going to para-sport events – both as a spectator and to participate,” Juliette told Royal Central. “So we have taken him to as many events as we can all over the country over the past two years.

“He had been feeling very down before the London 2012 Paralympics as he was struggling to keep up with his friends,” Juliette explained. “But after we took him to the last night of the athletics he was so inspired by ‘the people with special legs running’ that he decided to take up sport again and announced his ambition to become a Paralympian – he wants to be a blade runner like his heroes Jonnie Peacock (ParalympicsGB) and Alan Oliveira (his Brazilian Paralympics idol) and is aiming for the 2024 Games.”