Paralympics 2024: Eight GB athletes to watch in Paris

Powell is following in a family tradition when he takes to the judo mat in Paris.

The 33-year-old from Liverpool, who was born with a visual impairment, was just a child when his father Terry, who is also visually impaired, took part in the 1988 Games in Seoul and the 1996 Games in Atlanta, winning bronze in both.

He made his Paralympic debut at London 2012 but both he and his brother Marc missed out on medals.

In 2018 he shot to fame when he appeared on the ITV show Ninja Warrior UK, becoming the first person with a visual impairment to take part – he said that taking part was scarier than competing in London.

After finishing seventh in Tokyo, he took up rowing, impressing there too, but the lure of judo proved too strong and he made the decision to concentrate his efforts on it again.

The decision has been vindicated with silver in his J1 -90kg event at the 2022 World Championships in Baku followed by silver in the 2023 European Championships in Rotterdam and he goes to Paris ranked third in the world.

Powell is also passionate about giving back to the sport and set up the GNR8 Academy in Leicester – a community impact project which helps to support the local people, break down the barriers to physical exercise and find ways to integrate everyone into the community. He was rewarded earlier this year with the Social Impact Award at the PLx Awards hosted by UK Sport.

Men’s -90kg J1: Saturday, 7 September