Sports Features

Matt King, who had hoped to play professionally for Bedford, was injured when he was playing League Rugby for the London Broncos Under-19's squad, he was 17 years old.

He broke a bone in his neck and had a heart attack on the pitch.

Matt was left paralysed from the neck down and ventilator dependant, his injuries mirror those suffered by the later Christopher Reeve.

At the time of the accident, Doctor's warned his family he might not survive.

Against all the odds, Matt has proved the experts wrong, and next month he'll fly to America to take part in the New York Marathon.

Dame Tanni Grey Thompson gives Matt some tips

The BBC has followed his remarkable journey throughout the last three years, and we'll be there to follow his progress in New York on November 4th.

Matt will be the first person with his level of injuries to take part in the gruelling race, which he hopes to complete in around five hours.

He's doing the marathon with the support of the Christopher Reeve foundation, and will be raising money for xiiheroes, a charity which supports seriously injured rugby league players.

He is also going with tips from the top - words of advice from Dame Tanni Grey Thomspon, one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK, holder of 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, and winner of the London Marathon six times between 1997 and 2002.