The 36-year-old from Nottingham admits he considers himself a marathon runner rather than a sprinter and he actually holds the world record for double-leg amputees in both the full and half marathon.

Whitehead only turned to sprinting after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) refused to add his event to the sports programme at London 2012.

But Whitehead proved an instant success and after winning the 200m T42 world title in Christchurch in 2011, he stormed to gold at London 2012 in a world record of 24.38sec.

Since the Paralympics, Whitehead has returned to the long distance event and after running the 2013 Virgin London Marathon last month, he has targeted a run across Britain this summer from John O'Groats to Land's End for charity.

But he will be back to the sprint events as he looks to defend his world title at the 2013 IPC World Athletics Championships in Lyon in July before the London Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium that month as part of his long-term goal to win more sprint gold at Rio 2016 - when he will be 40.

"I have a different focus in the marathons right now," he told the Nottingham Post.

"My sprints are all about performance but marathons are all about giving back.

"I want to inspire people to take part in sport at lots of different levels.

"Whether you are six or 60, there are always opportunities.

"The London Marathon was about the legacy of what I did at the London 2012 Paralympics and giving back to the local community.

"On the track we have the Anniversary Games in July as well as the World Championships; while my own personal challenge is to run Britain which seems a little bit crazy!

"The 200m is the event I am hopefully going to compete in at the Rio Games in 2016 so that is really my main focus in terms of performance."


Whitehead claimed he is still hopeful he can convince the IPC to create a marathon T42 event at the Paralympics for his class, even if it comes too late for him to compete in

"Now they have seen what I can do on the track and the influence on sport a marathon has, hopefully things will open up for other athletes," he said

"It may be too late in my career but hopefully I have left that legacy for other athletes to compete in."

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