Moatez 'Mo' Jomni (born 19 February 1989) is a British Paralympic

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competes mainly in category T53 sprint events and middle-distance events.

Early life

Jomni was born in Tunisia in 1989. At the age of four Jomni was hit and run over by two vehicles. The accident left him in a critical condition and he spent the next six months in a coma. When Jomni was six his father took a job in London and the family moved with him. Jomni spent the next five years undergoing medical rehabilitation for his injuries, including spinal fixation.

Athletics career

At the age of 23, Jomni was inspired by watching the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

on his television. He contacted UK Athletics who placed him in touch with the Weir Archer academy, who took him on as a potential athlete. By 2013 Jomni was classified as a T53 track athlete and began competing at a national level, mainly in sprint events. The following year Jomni entered his first major international competition when he was selected for the Great Britain team at the

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swanse ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. There he entered two events, the T53 400 metre and 800 metre races. His time of 1:53.30 in the 800m was good enough to secure a bronze medal in the 800m. He followed this with his first international gold medal when in the 400m, in a limited field, he finished in a time of 52.78 ahead of France's Nicolas Brignone. The following year Jomni travelled to Doha to compete at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

. He entered four events, the

100m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

and

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

races all in the T53 classification. He qualified through the heats of all four events to reach the finals, achieving a bronze in the 200 metres final. The following year, in the build-up to the Summer Paralympics in Rio, Jomni travelled to Grosseto to take part in his second European Championships. At the Championships, despite losing his

400m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

title to Russia's

Vitalii Gritsenko Vitalii Gritsenko (born 16 December 1985) is a Russian wheelchair racer in the T53 classification. He represented Russian Paralympic Committee athletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Career Gritsenko represented Russian Paralympic Committee a ...

, he still finished as one of the British team's most successful athletes with five medals. Jomni won a bronze medal in the

, silvers in both the 400m and

800m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and gold medals in the

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and relay. In the relay Jomni shared the win with his club mentor and team-mate David Weir, alongside

Richard Chiassaro Richard Chiassaro (born 11 November 1981) is a British Paralympic athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be pr ...

and

Nathan Maguire Nathan Maguire (born 27 July 1997) is a British wheelchair racer. He won multiple medals at both the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships, 2018 and 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships, and also won the 400 metres mixed ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jomni, Moatez British male sprinters British male wheelchair racers Living people 1989 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics 21st-century British people