Paralympic Champion Andy Lewis has made the decision to retire from paratriathlon to launch a new business to support mental health at work.

Lewis started his journey in paratriathlon in 2013 and took part in his first race the following year, but it was 2016 where he began to enjoy sporting success.

The Paralympic year saw Lewis complete a hat-trick of gold medals with wins at the European and World Championships, before capping off the year with gold at the sport’s first-ever Paralympic Games.

He retained his world title the following year before taking silver in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the event.

Lewis will now take up a position with Bespoke Mentoring who support organisations to get the most out of their people by investing in their mental health.

“I can change people’s lives, and it’s time for me to make good on my word,” Lewis said. “There is nothing more important than your mental health. Nothing. And I want to use my experiences to help people monitor, manage and improve it.

“Whilst I learnt the very hard way, I’m grateful for the lessons which have made me ten times stronger than I ever could have been. Nothing has levelled me yet, and that kind of resilience is what makes you successful, whatever your measure of that is.

“Plus, in a time of isolation, remote working and homeschooling, so many companies feel helpless as they watch their employees struggle with this new normal. Motivation and mindset are muscles which need training like anything else. That’s why Bespoke Mentoring was born.”

Paratriathlon Head Coach, Jonathon Riall, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Andy. He was an integral part of our team as we headed to our first Paralympics in Rio 2016.

“The day he won gold in Rio will always hold special memories for me. Andy has always shown not only huge dedication to his sport, but also for the whole Paralympic movement and driving the sport of paratriathlon forward.

“Andy was and still is a vocal advocate for inclusive sport and was a major part of ‘challenge’ long distance races including disabled people into their races over the past couple of years. He was a key supporter also of Arctic One, a charity who support young disabled people to access sport, especially triathlon. I want to thank him for all of his hard work and wish him all the best in the future.”

More information on Lewis' new company can be found here.