A SPORTS student at Worcester University is in the running for a prestigious award previously scooped by some sporting greats.
Wheelchair basketball player Jack Long has been shortlisted in the top 10 for SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award, celebrating his achievements in the last year.
Launched in 2006, the award shines a spotlight on Britain’s young sporting prospects. Previous winners have included the likes of Olympic diver Tom Daley, javelin thrower Hollie Arnold, who won gold in the Rio Paralympics, and triathlete Alex Yee, who won gold at the Paris Olympics.
Jack, who is in the third year of a sport and exercise science degree at Worcester, said he was thrilled to be among such high achieving company.
He continued: “To be shortlisted for this award is a great feeling and I’m honoured to be selected for the top 10. With the number of successful athletes nominated for this award before me, it makes it an even bigger accomplishment for myself personally and it is a crazy situation for me to be in.”
The top 10 athletes have been selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid – a charity that supports young British sportsmen and women, across more than 60 different sports in 2024.
It has been a year of progress for Jack, who has been playing wheelchair basketball for 10 years. The 20-year-old, from Shirehampton, Bristol, was selected for the Under 30s Great Britain squad competing in the 20th Kitakyushu Champions Cup in Japan in November last year.
He went on to represent his country again as part of the GB Under 23 squad in their undefeated success at the European Championships this year. This win in Madrid ensured that the GB team qualified for the under 23 World Championships in Brazil.
Jack is part of the university’s Wheelchair Basketball BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) team which has won back-to-back national titles, this year with Jack at the helm. His ultimate goal is the Paralympics.
The winner of this year’s award will be revealed later this month.
