Jack Dalziel Smith (born 19 June 1991) in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

is a British

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US name ...

athlete and member of the

Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team The Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team represents Great Britain in international wheelchair rugby. Great Britain is the most successful team in European competition, winning six gold medals at the European Championship and a gold at t ...

where the team won the final on the 29th August 2021 and received gold medals. He was chosen to represent Great Britain at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

in Tokyo.

Biography

In 2008, at age 16, Jack was diagnosed with

Hodgkin Lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

. A few weeks after this diagnosis, while playing rugby for Billingham RUFC he was injured in a ruck incident. Jack sustained a fracture-dislocation of several vertebrae and spinal cord compression, which resulted in paralysis from the chest down. He had spinal surgery at North Tees Hospital and spent three months’ rehab at

James Cook University Hospital The James Cook University Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital and regional major trauma centre in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England located on the A172 ( Marton Road). Having 1,046 beds, it caters for most specialities and forms par ...

spinal unit. Just over a year later and Jack was back playing rugby, only this time in a wheelchair. He took up the sport in 2009 at the North East Bulls club, the region's only wheelchair team. Jack moved on to Leicester Tigers Wheelchair Rugby club, and through many years hard work and dedication, to a place in the Great Britain team. Following his selection for the GBWR team Jack said: “This has been my dream for six or seven years and right now I’m so excited. My parents, brother, sister and my girlfriend have been so supportive and, although it’s not possible for them to watch, they are over the moon for me.” Smith was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to wheelchair rugby.

References

1991 births Living people British disabled sportspeople Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Great Britain Wheelchair rugby players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople from Stockton-on-Tees Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Sportspeople from County Durham Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Wheelchairrugby-bio-stub