Matthew Shepherd was a 20-year-old university student in the UK when he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer which required a leg amputation.
Today, the Briton, 34, is working in Dubai and is one of the world's best CrossFit athletes in his field.
Mr Shepherd, a physics teacher at Repton Dubai, competed in the World Adaptive CrossFit Games in the US this year and finished in the top 10 in the lower above-knee category.
“In 2010, I was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma, which is a type of bone cancer and, through treatments, I had my leg amputated in February 2010,” Mr Shepherd told The National. “There have been challenges since then such as getting used to having a prosthetic leg.
“There were physical challenges and then there were people. People react differently to you. So, if I would be walking on the street with a little bit of a limp, I would notice people looking at me, and it was just about adjusting to that.”
A culmination of years of hard work
Mr Shepherd said he did not let challenges stand in his way and, even though he had to adapt different exercises, he kept trying every year until he qualified in the World Adaptive CrossFit Games this year.
After Mr Shepherd was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in January 2010, he soon started chemotherapy and had his leg amputated. He took a year out of university and then went back to finish his degree before starting a career as a teacher. Having lived and worked in the UAE since 2016, his message is a simple one: “Don't let people ever tell you, you can't do anything.”
“You can take part in gym classes, you can play sport, you can do all these things. It's just a case of getting out there and having the confidence to do it,” he said. “There have been instances where people have told me that I can't do something, or I won't be able to do it. Hopefully, by taking part in this competition, I have shown that I can do this.”
What is Adaptive CrossFit?
CrossFit is a high-intensity fitness programme which includes elements of various exercises. Adaptive CrossFit is a variation of CrossFit exercises, which have been designed to be suitable for athletes with physical or neurological impairments.
For the World Adaptive CrossFit Games this year, where Mr Shepherd entered the top 10, he had to film himself doing various exercises within a certain time limit to qualify. One such exercise is the double-sided coin – where the athlete has to carry out 16 alternative dumbbell snatches, 16 burpees, 16 ring dips and then as many barbell snatches as possible within six minutes.
“I started going to a CrossFit class in 2019 and I've been going there pretty much five times a week ever since. I wanted to do something because I was a little overweight,” he said.
“Since I started, I have been involved in doing the online stages of the CrossFit Games and only in the last sort of three or four years have they introduced an adaptive category. I've been improving every year, but this year was the first year where I was able to take it a bit more seriously with a view to qualifying.
“I was just really proud, and I was really thankful to the school for letting me go to compete.”
The 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Games featured 15 divisions from upper impairment to lower impairment to intellectual disabilities.
'Anyone can do anything'
Mr Shepherd believes that people can “get into a little bit of a rut” after a traumatic experience but that, the way the CrossFit competition was organised and the number of people with impairments and different disabilities who participated “just shows that anyone can do anything”.
“It should not be something that holds people back. You should be able to compete and participate,” he said. “I think there needs to be not just a mindset from people with impairments to get out and do something, but also a mindset of people who run teams and clubs and gyms, that there are people with impairments who want to take part, and they can excel.”
“Seeing Matt in the top 10 was amazing. It was such a proud moment,” Adrian Hughes, Mr Shepherd’s coach, said. “Matt's journey has been inspiring. His mental toughness is what really helped him reach that global level.”
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Naga
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
