Jon Pollock

Pollock was born on 11 May 1977 in Liverpool, England, with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. He currently lives in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in north west England.[3][4][5]

Pollock was a class 2.5 wheelchair basketball player and point/shooting guard.[2] He has been competing in wheelchair basketball for twenty years. In his twenty-year career, he has represented Team GB and Paralympics GB four times at various Summer Paralympic Games.[2]

Pollock first competed at the 1997 European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Madrid, Spain, winning silver. Two years later, he played in the 1999 European Championships in Roermond, Netherlands. He ended in fourth place with his team. In 2000, he was a member of Team GB in the 2000 Summer Paralympic Games, held in Sydney, Australia. Along with his team, they finished in fourth place; out of the medals. In 2001–02, he finished in fourth place at the 2001/2002 European championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the 2002 World Championships, he won silver after losing to USA in the final and was first selection in the World All Star 5, in Kitakyushu, Japan. He participated in the 2003 European Championships, in Sassari, Italy. He won bronze in this event.[2][3] In the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, he was in medal position. He finished, along with his team, in the bronze medal position. Two years after the Paralympics, he was at the 2006 World Championships in Amsterdam. He finished in fifth position. The following year, Pollock was at the 2007 European Championships, in Wetzlar, Netherlands. Along with his team, he finished in silver medal position. The following year, he was a member of the squad in the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing. Here, he won his second Paralympic bronze. In 2009 he won bronze in the European championships in Adana, southern Turkey. In 2010, he finished fifth, along with his team, in the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships, held in Birmingham.[2][3] At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, Pollock and the GB team got through to the semi-finals after beating Turkey,[6] but lost against Canada 52–69, keeping them out of medal position.[7]