British men’s wheelchair basketball team named for Rio

Twelve players will try to help Great Britain reach the podium in September’s Paralympics. 21 Jun 2016

Abdi Jama captained Great Britain's men's team at the 2013 IWBF European Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Frankfurt, Germany.

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By British Paralympic Association

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) has confirmed the 12 wheelchair basketball players who will compete in the men’s tournament at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The team is led by four-time Paralympian Terry Bywater, who holds two bronze medals from Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004.

“I am so pleased to have been selected once again, the excitement and the pride at being able to compete at a Paralympics never wears off,” Bywater said.

“Rio will be such an important Games for us as athletes. It’s the first Games after London, and that was a watershed Games in terms of public support and recognition for Paralympic athletes. Hopefully that can continue in 2016, both with the British public as well as in Rio.”

The team’s other co-captain is Simon Brown, who is back for his second Games after first representing ParalympicsGB at Beijing 2008.

“I’m really excited to see our fans support us in our build up to the Paralympics over the next few months and for them to know they can really supercharge our preparations for Rio and the future,” Brown said.

Making his seventh appearance at a Games, Paralympic veteran Simon Munn has also been selected for the 2016 squad, alongside five new names.

Amongst the athletes approaching their first Games is 21-year-old Harry Brown who has been playing internationally since he was 15. The youngest player to ever be selected to represent the GB Men’s Senior Team when he made his debut at the BT Paralympic World Cup in 2011, Brown has competed at numerous major events. Having only narrowly missed out on London 2012, he has made the team-sheet this time around.

“There is huge strength and depth of skill in our team and I also hope to learn a lot from the experience of my teammates,” Harry Brown said. “We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with at Rio 2016.”

Penny Briscoe, Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB, said: “Wheelchair basketball is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and engaging sports on the Paralympic programme, it is a clear crowd favourite and I know that this British team will be in a position to put on a fantastic show. The level of experience in this team is arguably unprecedented for a ParalympicsGB team and I can’t wait to see them in action.

“I would like to pay tribute to all the hard work done behind the scenes by players and staff at British Wheelchair Basketball in developing a GB team with such a tough and competitive line up.”

Team leader and British Wheelchair Basketball Performance Director Paul Davies said: “For our performance programme London 2012 presented us with many opportunities and created a greater public awareness of the sport. With this increased national support behind us, our established performance team in place and the players we have selected; we are aiming for a medal position at Rio 2016.”

Men’s wheelchair basketball roster

Abdi Jama (1.0)

Simon Brown (2.0)

Kyle Marsh (2.0)

Gregg Warburton (2.0)

Ade Orogbemi (2.5)

Harry Brown (2.5)

Phil Pratt (3.0)

Ian Sagar (3.0)

Gaz Choudhry (4.0)

Simon Munn (4.0)

Terry Bywater (4.5)