Josh Gardner receives his grant from Gary McAlister and Eddie Gray
Joshua Gardner, 18, plays wheelchair basketball and rugby and needed a stronger, lighter and more reliable chair to progress.
Josh, who lives in Halton, Leeds, has seen great success in both sports, and heads to the Wheelchair Rugby Four Nations Cup next weekend (13 & 14 September) as first reserve.
He plays for the Leeds Rhinos WRL team, scoring around 20 points last season, and was also part of the Irish World Cup rugby team last year.
His Four Nations role comes hot on the heels as player/coach for England North at basketball in the UK School Games, where he helped the team win Silver last weekend.
He said: “My new chair is brilliant and arrived at the right time as I played in the National Basketball Championships just after it came. I wish I had had it in time for the Four Nations trials as it has also helped a lot with my rugby!”
Josh had little interest in sport as an able-bodied youngster but at the age of nine he contracted transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord, and began to use a wheelchair. His interest in sport grew, as did his success, and he hopes to make even greater progress with his new chair, aiming at making the team for the European Rugby Championships next year.
Away from sport, Josh has just begun an apprenticeship as a Broadcast Assistant with BBC Radio Leeds.