Meet the Athletes

For any athlete, the moment the starting gun fires represents the moment when all their efforts of weeks, months, and years of training come together with critical focus. It is when every athlete needs to be at their peak physical and mental fitness—with their unique and individual definitions of health underpinning their performance and success. To support Picture of Health, six Bupa athlete ambassadors share their inspirational stories and explore what “health” means to them.

Curtis McGrath 

“My Picture of Health is independence. Being happy, being fit, and being able to do the things I want to do,” says Australian Para canoeist and former soldier, Curtis McGrath. A mine blast in Afghanistan took both of Curtis’s legs, changing his life forever. “On the stretcher,” he recalls, “I said, ‘I’ll see you guys in the Paralympic Games’; and it wasn’t a promise, it was more a statement of hope.” Less than two years later, Curtis broke a world record and won the 200-meter VL2 world title in Moscow. He has since taken home 14 gold medals and one silver, including consecutive golds at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. “It's amazing to be in Paris,” he says. “It’s just another line in my story of how far I’ve come since lying on the ground in Afghanistan. Now I’m here and it's exciting.”

Mariana Zúñiga 

“For me to be healthy, I need to be in a mental and physical state which allows me to develop and grow as a person. My Picture of Health is self belief,” explains Chilean archer Mariana Zúñiga. “This means I can be at my best in both life and my sport.” Mariana was born with myelomeningocele, a form of spina bifida. “I first began archery when I was 10 years old after watching the movie Brave,” she explains. “And today I’m on a beautiful journey in sport.” When she won a silver medal, her achievement was celebrated across the continent as the first archer from the Americas to win in her category. “For me, being brave means facing obstacles,” she says. “Feeling all of the fear and emotions, but at the same time facing the challenges that life throws at me.”

Róża Kozakowska 

“My Picture of Health is the strength to overcome difficulties that seemed impossible at first,” says Polish shot put and club throw athlete, Róża Kozakowska. “In my case, impossible doesn’t exist.” Róża’s nervous system was attacked after a tick bite and she developed articular and cerebral neuroborreliosis, a condition which impacts her coordination. “I woke up one morning and just felt I was paralyzed,” she recalls. “But I never gave up, I believed in myself, and this is how my adventure in sports for disabled people began.” Róża not only won a gold medal in Tokyo 2020, but she also set a new world record and was named Poland’s 2021 Disabled Athlete of the Year. “Developing my physical fitness takes time, it is a hard, thorough process,” she emphasizes. But it’s worth it. “Without health, life is gray, boring, devoid of all color. It is the most important thing.”

Richard Whitehead, MBE 

“My Picture of Health is determination,” declares Richard Whitehead, MBE, and British runner. From an early age, Richard learned to live life without limits, becoming the first double amputee to run the length of Great Britain—40 marathons in 40 days for charity. Since winning two Paralympic gold medals for the 200 meters, Richard has devoted his energy to using the power of sport for the benefit of disabled people. “Probably my greatest achievement was accepting my disability as not a negative, but as a positive,” he says. “An opportunity to show people that anything is possible; to represent a community that maybe didn’t have representation when I was growing up.”

Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker

“My Picture of Health is energy,” says British Para athlete Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker. “I say energy because it’s quite similar to health in terms of how contagious it is. If someone is in good health, they would tend to promote good health habits,” he explains. Missing his lower left arm, Emmanuel’s running skill was spotted by a teacher. “I came second out of all the schools in my council,” he recalls, and he was encouraged to take running seriously by following a Para athlete pathway. “I’m representing Great Britain; I’ve won a Commonwealth gold medal. And yeah, the Paralympic medal is the next one to come,” he smiles. “Sleeping good, eating good, exercising, drinking lots of water, if you have good energy, you’re feeling buzzy, you’re feeling happy,” he says. “That ability to influence others through how you’re feeling is very helpful.”

Sara Andrés Barrio

“My picture of health is tranquility,” explains Sara Andrés Barrio, Spanish sprinter and long jumper. “Because when your health is good, you’re whole, in peace, at ease with yourself.” Sara lost her feet in an accident, but she seized what she saw as a second chance and took up sport to become more agile. “I realized I loved athletics. It became my passion, and now my profession.” A finalist in Rio, and having won double bronze and silver medals at the World Para Athletics Championships, Sara has a clear focus on health. “I think having good health is the main thing, right?” she asks. “To be able to enjoy life, to be fully calm knowing that everything is fine in your body and mind, to be able to enjoy the things that really matter, right?”

These extraordinary athletes have been photographed by world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz as part of Bupa's Picture of Health campaign. This aims to start a conversation about what health is, and what it can be—using this series of dynamic and striking photos to inspire people to share their own pictures of health. From strength and independence to family and self-belief, these photos are just the beginning. “I’m very happy to belong to this group,” considers Sara. “I hope Annie captures our feelings very well: our positivity, our tenacity, our resilience. And that these superpowers will be forever remembered.”

From the mental to the physical, dive even deeper into these athletes’ Picture of Health.