Liverpool Paralympian Abdi Jama is currently in the French capital for the 2024 games A dad competing at this year's Paralympics in Paris has said he “will do everything to bring a gold medal back home” to Toxteth . Abdi Jama was born in Somalia but moved to Liverpool as a child. He has thrown thousands of hoops at the Greenbank Sports Academy, near Sefton Park, in preparation for his spot on the Team GB wheelchair basketball squad.
The dad-of-one became a wheelchair user at the age of 14 after an accident. He started playing the sport in the city after being introduced to it by his friend and fellow Paralympian Ade Orogbemi. Since then, the 41-year-old has travelled the world playing for clubs in Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia.
In this time, he has won three bronze Paralympic medals but is hoping for a different colour to add to his impressive collection this time around. Abdi previously told the ECHO: “All the hard work and dedication I've put in throughout the years to be still at the top of my game at this age, it's amazing and credit to all the support I've had. We’ve got youth and experienced guys, and being one of the main experienced guys I can give a lot to the players on and off court.
"The biggest thing for me is to bring that gold medal back home. We've come so close, but I think this is the year we're going to do it. To be the sole (Team GB) representative from Liverpool, L8 , it means a lot to me.
It’s absolutely amazing to represent my community, especially the area where I live. "It's a privilege to have this opportunity, but at the same time it's the hard work and dedication I’ve put in that’s got me here, and I can showcase that to my community and hopefully bring that big gold medal back home, to show anybody can do anything if you put your mind to it and work hard for it”. Covid delayed the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics by a year and disrupted Abdi's training, forcing him to train alone.
This time, the team used Nottingham and Loughborough universities as their main training bases before leaving for the French capital last week. The 2024 games opened earlier this week with a ceremony highlighting the strength and beauty of differences. As it stands the UK is in second place with a total of six medals, just a short distance behind the People's Republic of China.
Abdi hopes his training at Greenbank Sports Academy will pay off as he hopes to add another medal to his country’s tally. He said: “Greenbank is my home, where it all started as a young kid. This is my training base, even though my training with the national team is away from here.
"This place is amazing, it gives me resources, they look after me with court sessions, the gym. It’s an amazing place and for disabled people everything is accessible. I’m kind of an ambassador for them.
To have one of their own coming back and giving them so much it’s amazing. This is my home. “Last year was difficult, having an injury and not being able to compete at the World and European Championships.
We were world champions, but not able to retain our title. It was tough for me, but as a sportsman, you go through these things. "I was proud of the team coming back with a silver after being in the final, yet again.
Then in a couple of weeks to go to the European Championships and win it for the eighth time was really phenomenal. That gave me even more hunger. I’m going to push everything I can to bring that gold medal back home to L8".
Mark Palmer, sports development manager at Greenbank, told the ECHO how proud he was of Abdi, and other athletes who are in Paris representing the academy and their country. He said: “Greenbank are proud of its history in developing disability sport at all levels and supporting local Paralympic athletes. It's amazing to see people who both train and work at Greenbank participate in the Paris Paralympics and we hope all of them achieve their own goals.
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