Wing athlete aiming for gold at this year’s paralympics

A Wing athlete has joined forces with Liscombe Health Club in Soulbury as he increases his training regime for the 2024 paralympic games in Paris as a member of the French wheelchair basketball team.

Jordan Luce, from Martinique, was born with pseudoarthrosis of the right tibia, a condition that weakens affected bones and increases the risk of fractures.

His parents made the difficult decision to sent the then toddler to his grandparents in France where he could receive the medical treatment.

Jordan said: “Recovery was a long process, sometimes taking up to two years, and there were times when I would fracture the same leg again within the same year. Thanks to the incredible support of my grandparents, I was able to lead what I now recognize as a remarkable life for which I am profoundly thankful.

“After enduring 18 years of frequent fractures and infections, I found a new passion that transformed my life, wheelchair basketball. While recovering in a rehabilitation center, which felt like a second home, I was introduced to the sport. I quickly excelled, connecting with the movement of the chair and gaining speed, which caught the attention of the French under-22 national team coach. I joined a few training camps, learned the sport thoroughly, and participated in my first European championship in 2012 with the under-22 team. That same year, I also competed with the senior team in Slovenia, where we won the European championship.”

It was also in France that the then 18-year-old met his future wife Elin during the U23 European Championships in 2012 where she was working in the events team at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

He said: “I spoke no English at all, so Google Translate was really our best friend for the first few years! After a year of flying between England and the French sports academy where I lived at the time, she eventually came out to live with me in Bordeaux. However, after sustaining a ligament injury in my wrist during the following season, I took a step back from professional club basketball and we moved to England, buying our first house in Leighton Buzzard in 2016, later moving to Wing.”

“We got married in Newton Longville in 2017 and now have two daughters, aged 2 and 4,” said Jordan who now works as a web developer. “They are an enormous support and I love nothing more than the girls coming to support me on the sidelines. I hope I can make them proud of their daddy!”

The 30 year old has also worked as a model. He said: “Being featured in the River Island campaign 'Labels Are For Clothes' was an amazing experience and I think inclusion and representation of people with disabilities in the media is so important.”

He is passionate about people with disabilities getting involved in sport. He said: “It's not just about staying fit or even excelling in a sport; it's about being part of a team and a community. I'd love for kids with disabilities to know how much sport can bring to their lives, like it has to mine.

“I would like to thank Liscombe Health Club for their support as I work towards being in top form for the Games.”