Polio survivor, Peter Cusack from the West Midlands has been selected to join the men's wheelchair basketball squad for this year's Paralympics, due to start on Wednesday 28 July.
British Wheelchair Basketball, the national governing body for wheelchair basketball in the UK, reported that ParalympicsGB had made the announcement early this month when they published the men's and women's wheelchair basketball squads. British Wheelchair Basketball's announcement read:
"Across both teams, five debutants are set to make their first ever appearance in a Paralympic Games. On the men’s team, Lee Fryer and Peter Cusack join the ranks of seasoned athletes including 2018 World Champions Lee Manning, Simon Brown, Harry Brown, Phil Pratt, Gregg Warburton, Abdi Jama, Jim Palmer and Terry Bywater. 2023 European Gold medallists Kyle Marsh and Ben Fox complete the squad.
...ParalympicsGB men look to claim an elusive gold medal, having previously won five bronze and three silver, while the women’s squad are headed to the Games with their sights on making history by obtaining their first ever Paralympic medal.
...Wheelchair basketball will take place on all 11 days of competition in the Bercy Arena.
A total of around 220 athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Paris, with further names to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the coming weeks. At Tokyo 2020 ParalympicsGB won medals across a record breaking 18 different sports – the highest number of any nation ever. ParalympicsGB finished second on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.
Diccon Edwards, Performance Director at British Wheelchair Basketball and Team Leader for wheelchair basketball at Paris 2024, commented: ”I am excited we have such talented squads to represent ParalympicsGB in Paris. It was incredibly hard to make the selections given the quality and depth across both squads and now the selected players have the opportunity to achieve something special for the whole group and inspire the next generation of wheelchair basketball players.
“We are fortunate to have a core of senior players across both squads who have experience of the Paralympic Games and are supporting new players in preparing for what will be a very special event. We have learnt a lot over the last 12 months from the Worlds and Europeans in 2023, and are fully focused on applying what we have learnt to deliver our best performances yet in Paris.”
GB Men
Name – Hometown – Current Club – Classification
Abdi Jama – Liverpool – Amivel Reyes Gutierrez – 1.0
Jim Palmer – Chelmsford – Rhine River Rhinos – 1.0
Simon Brown – Kingsbury – Amiab Albacete – 2.0
Kyle Marsh – Wolverhampton – Amivel Reyes Gutierrez – 2.0
Greg Warburton – Leigh – CD Ilunion – 2.0
Harry Brown – Halifax – Amiab Albacete – 2.5
Phil Pratt – Cardiff – Amiab Albacete – 3.0
Ben Fox – Swindon – Amiab Albacete – 3.5
Peter Cusack – Coventry – UCAM Murcia – 3.5
Lee Fryer – Wakefield – UCAM Murcia – 4.0
Lee Manning – Peterborough – Amiab Albacete – 4.5
Terry Bywater – Middlesbrough – CD Ilunion – 4.5
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