Paralympic Champion's Heartbreaking Prognosis: Months to Live

Paralympic rowing champion David Smith has been moved to palliative care and informed he has just four months to live. The 47-year-old Scottish athlete, a gold medallist from the London 2012 Games, revealed his prognosis via voice-activated technology from his hospital bed. He is currently paralyzed and facing the advanced stages of a long-standing battle with cancer that has spread to his brain.

Smith's fight with the illness has been ongoing for years, involving multiple surgeries for spinal tumours and a recent emergency brain surgery in August 2025 after three tumours were discovered. Despite receiving radiotherapy for benign tumours, his condition has deteriorated. He expressed fears of not returning home again except for his funeral, marking a poignant turn after a week that saw him in the gym and travelling for engagements.