British canoeist Jon Goodwin becomes first Olympian to travel to space

Retired slalom canoeist Jon Goodwin became the first Olympian to travel to space when he embarked on Virgin Galactic’s inaugural space tourism excursion earlier this month.

Goodwin, 80, competed in canoe slalom at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games and has also set milestones in canoe expeditions in the USA, Himalayas, and the Arctic.

Aside from being the first Olympian in space, and the oldest Briton, Goodwin is also the second person with Parkinson’s disease to do so.

He was diagnosed in 2014 and has described his flight to space as a way to give hope to people going through similar challenges.

“When I signed up [for the Virgin Galactic spaceflight] in September 2005, I didn’t have Parkinson’s. And when, nine years ago, I contacted the disease, I thought that’s the end of me going into space. They have done obviously various health checks and everything else over the years and it’s never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do," Goodwin said in a press conference after returning from space.

“I’m hoping that I instil in other people around the world as well as people with Parkinson’s that it doesn’t stop you doing things that are out of the normal if you got some illness that’s inflicted. I just hope the good comes out of that as far as other Parkinson’s people suffering."

Virgin's 'Galactic 02' mission took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico on 10 August with Goodwin, two fellow tourists - a mother and daughter from Antigua - and three crew members on board VSS Unity.

The hour-long trip gave Goodwin a chance to view the Earth from space and also to float weightless for a few minutes. His wife Pauline Goodwin, also an Olympic canoeist, two sons, daughter-in-law and grandson were there to greet him on his return.

Upon landing, Goodwin described the trip as a “a completely surreal experience”.