Paralympic gold medallist to shine on TV’s Splash!
Published:As a Paralympian who overcame double above-knee congenital amputation to claim gold in the 200 metres at the London games in 2012, Richard Whitehead has a track record for overcoming the odds to claim victory and it could prove no different on Splash!
Going into his semi-final for the ITV reality show, the 37-year-old faced quite a challenge to usurp his opponent Austin Healey on the day and pre-show favourite for the diving contest Perri Kiely.
The former’s athletic appearance and history as an England rugby player has seen him installed as an 8/1 shot to win the show, while the latter’s background as one member of break dancing troupe Diversity and his impressive initial dive has him priced at 6/4 for the victory.
However both have been forced to play second fiddle to Whitehead, who scored a stunning 27 out of 30 for his first dive, during an imperious display over the weekend.
Healey may have thought he had done enough to mark himself out as a serious contender for the title and while the former sportsman definitely remains in the mix, he faces a tough test to usurp either Kiely or Whitehead.
The Paralympian will be hoping to harness some of the positive public sentiment and support that still lingers in the UK long after the conclusion of the summer games of 2012.
But allied to this, the 37-year-old has demonstrated both ability and determination that makes the 10/11 offered by Ladbrokes for him to win the show one of the bets of the week.
The boys are certainly dominating things in the outright winners market, with Anna Williamson the best priced female competitor at 33/1, followed by Michaela Strachan and Danielle Lloyed who are 66/1 and 100/1 respectively.
Keith Duffy and Dan Osbourne remain outside shots for the boys, with the pair priced 14/1 and 16/1 for victory following their initial progress through the semis.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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