The double amputee powerlifter, who finished sixth in Tokyo, wants the broader needs of the disabled community recognised
Ali Jawad takes a deep breath, as if to compose himself, and explains how his recovery from the Paralympic Games is going. “At the minute I’m still in the process of looking at options, to try to start that process of getting into remission,” he says. “I don’t know how long that is going to take and I don’t know what route I’m going to take currently, but yeah. Let’s hope the process is quick. Unfortunately, with the last five years, I think it might take a little bit longer.”
In 2016 the ParalympicsGB powerlifter came to fame with a roar: a 190kg lift earned him a silver medal in Rio and the pumped-up celebration that followed cut through with the audience at home. But Jawad was about to begin a journey that was tougher than anything he had experienced before, the man who was born without legs and also has Crohn’s disease being hit four-square by an enduring, almost overwhelming bout of the debilitating bowel disease that continues to this day.
