We are delighted to share news of a well-deserved award for our outgoing IPF chair, Professor Stephen Duckworth OBE, who has been recognised by King’s College London as an alumnus who has done something exceptional for sport.
The special award, which was introduced this year, recognises Stephen’s work and commitment to the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF), an official charity of England Rugby.
As part of the award Stephen has been inducted into the prestigious King’s College London (KCL) Sports Hall of Fame.
His gong was announced at the annual ceremony hosted by Dame Katherine Grainger and attended by sporting figures, and Kings alumni, including England Rugby and Saracens hooker Theo Dan and former World Champion and Olympic medalist, GB sprinter Dina Asher-Smith.
Stephen has served as an RFU Injured Players Foundation trustee since 2015 and was appointed chair of the IPF in 2024. He has also chaired World Rugby’s Catastrophically Injured Rugby Players Charities Working Group.
An IPF member himself, Stephen sustained a catastrophic spinal cord injury during pre-season training at university, aged 21, while studying medicine. This accident on the rugby pitch left him paralysed from the neck down.
Refusing to let his injury define him, or prevent him from living the life he wanted to lead, Stephen returned to medical school after a long period in Stoke Mandeville hospital, and later 13 months at Stanmore hospital with osteomyelitis where they needed to remove Stephen’s hip and part of his pelvis. Despite the enormous challenges, Stephen went on to qualify as a doctor.
He is also an author and academic, specialising as a Professor of Bio Engineering at the University of Southampton.
Aside from his passion for sport and medicine, Stephen has gone on to become a business leader and disability rights activist.
He has held Non-Exec Board level positions at organisations including Network Rail, the Palace of Westminster (Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority) and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
During this time, he has contributed to national policy and global events, including the reshaping of disability visibility around the London 2012 Paralympics and Olympics.
Stephen continues to inspire others through his tireless campaigning for equality and to remove barriers from the lives of people living with disabilities.
In his personal life, Stephen and his wife Rose, who has been his rock since his injury and beyond, are the proud parents of four boys and grandparents to Fred.
Stephen continues to be a passionate rugby supporter, particularly when his beloved Guy’s Hospital RFC is playing. It doesn’t take long in Stephen’s company to be told Guy’s Hospital RFC is the oldest rugby club in the world having been founded in 1843!
Speaking upon receiving his award Stephen, said:
“I am deeply honoured to be inducted into the King’s College London Sports Hall of Fame. To be recognised by King’s, with its remarkable sporting heritage, and alongside outstanding sportspeople such as Theo Dan, Dame Katherine Grainger and Dina Asher-Smith, is profoundly moving.
“I am especially grateful that this special award acknowledges my work with the RFU Injured Players Foundation, whose players and families embody courage, resilience and friendship. Any contribution I have made has been a privilege, and I accept this honour with enormous gratitude, and on behalf of everyone connected to the IPF.”
Karen Hood, director of the RFU Injured Players Foundation said:
“We are thrilled that Stephen has been recognised in this way. The contribution he has made to sport, to the RFU Injured Players Foundation and to improving disability rights in this country is immeasurable.
“In his role as Chair of the RFU Injured Players Foundation Stephen has made it his mission, alongside our dedicated IPF team, to ensure our IPF Members are always at the centre of any decision making and that every avenue is pursued to provide the best quality of life for our injured players.”
Speaking about the incredible impact Stephen has had on the lives of injured players, IPF Member Dan said:
"Stephen could not have been more generous to me with his time and advice on navigating through the challenges of rebuilding a life after spinal cord injury.
“The example he gave of what is possible to achieve, as well as the energy, resilience and bravery he has shown in the face of such challenging circumstances, made an immeasurable difference to me, especially in the difficult early stages after my own injury."
Deputy IPF Chair, Evan Davies, said:
“Anyone who knows Stephen will appreciate he is a force of nature who will never shirk a challenge when it comes to securing the best opportunities for our IPF members and for people with disabilities.
“His approach to life has always been to focus on what can be done, not what can’t, and his achievements are an inspiration to all who know him.
“Stephen’s medical expertise and first-hand knowledge of catastrophic injury provide such valuable insight and guidance to us as trustees and also to medics and surgeons like myself. He is always pushing the boundaries and seeking medical or technological developments that might help IPF members.
“Life is also never dull with Stephen around. His sense of fun and passion for rugby are infectious and make him an absolute pleasure to work with. He will be a hard act to follow when his term as chair comes to a close.”
IPF trustee Antonia Bennett added: “We are thrilled to see Stephen honoured by KCL. We see on a daily basis, his commitment to and advocacy for members of the Injured Players Foundation.
“Stephen is tireless in his support and always willing to challenge the status quo to enable our injured players to achieve the lives and fulfilment they chose after injury. It is a privilege to work alongside him.”
King’s College London Alumni Association and King’s Sport & Wellness have partnered to develop the King’s Sport Hall of Fame.
At the 2026 Kings’ Hall of Fame ceremony further awards were presented in recognition of:
-
Significant playing achievement: Alumni or students who have achieved national or international recognition having represented their country in competitive sport and have brought credit to King’s and its alumni by having done so. There are both current and historical categories.
-
Staff, Alumni or students who have brought sustained enthusiasm and commitment to sport at King’s which has enabled their sport(s) to survive and thrive over a sustained period.
-
Sporting Clubs which have nurtured their sport, achieved national prominence and spawned multiple internationals (or persons fulfilling criteria for admission to the Hall of Fame).
