Jack Long has been nominated for SportsAid’s ‘One-to-Watch’ award, an annual award which has previously been won by Paralympic gold medallist Hollie Arnold and Olympic champions Tom Daley and Alex Yee.

The top 10 athletes have been selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports in 2024.

This nomination recognises Jack’s achievements over the last year, having represented GB U23 in their undefeated run at European Championships to claim gold and captaining the University of Worcester’s BUCS side to win their second title in a row.

Speaking to SportsAid, Jack also discussed how playing basketball helped him understand his relationship with autism both on and off court:

“I grew up with autism and it used to affect me quite a lot in parts of my life. I used to not understand why I would do stuff and how I’d handle stuff. I think through sport and through just growing up, I’ve managed to understand it a lot more and be able to deal with it a lot more.

“I understand it’s never going to go and that’s just it. But understanding that has helped me persist further in just day-to-day life, like I don’t get as worked up over stuff. I can carry on playing basketball and not get too stressed about it. That’s something I’m quite passionate about. I want all people who have it to understand themselves.

“It’s hard growing up when you’re young because you don’t really understand what’s going on, but eventually as I’ve grown up, I’ve managed to understand it so I’d say I’m quite passionate about that.”

 The recipient of the award will be announced in December this year, with all top ten athletes receiving a reward.  Read the full news article here: https://www.sportsaid.org.uk/news-and-insights/news/sportsaid-announces-annual-one-watch-award-shortlist-2024

Image credit: British Wheelchair Basketball