Select a region
To celebrate and coincide with the Paralympic Games, Bailiwick Express is sharing the inspiring stories of local athletes who take part in accessible sport.
Taking place until 8 September, the Paralympic Games is an iconic and important sporting occasion that highlights and champions athletes from around the world.
Although none of the 215 athletes representing Great Britain at the 2024 Paralympics are from the Channel Islands, there are plenty of inspiring athletes in Jersey...
Ollie Wellum loves football and is a passionate West Ham fan.
The 27-year-old has also been playing the sport for a number of years with Jersey's large and talented Learning Disability squad.
Pictured: Ollie Wellum plays for the Learning Disability Football team.
Unlike his teammates, Ollie hasn't been formally diagnosed with a learning disability.
But after being unable to join other local sides due to having Charcot Marie Tooth disease (CMT), he said that the Learning Disability squad "welcomed [him] into the team".
Now training every week with his friends, Ollie said: “The LD team is a really relaxed group of people who understand what my condition means."
CMT is a group of inherited conditions that cause nerve damage, leading to muscle weakness and numbness.
Pictured: Ollie has been playing for the Learning Disabilities football team since he was a teenager.
Ollie's CMT has impacted his ability to be physically active as he's gotten older.
Explaining how he originally joined the team as an upfront player, Ollie said his ability to run "isn't really there" anymore.
However, the squad has catered for this, with Ollie now able to play in goal.
“The sessions are adapted to disability," said Ollie.
"With the progression of my CMT, going in goal suits me better because the running part of me isn’t really there."
He explained: “When I first joined, I could run around with the guys a bit more but that’s non-existent now really.
“In reality, I will have to stop playing sport one day but I’ve been told until then, I can carry on being included, which is great.
"I’m always reaching out to try new things but I have built that motivation myself and I'm getting better in goal."
Ollie plays for not one but three Learning Disability squads in Jersey.
Facilitated by the Jersey Sporting Association for the Disabled, it is an important set-up that keeps players like him involved and winning trophies.
Pictured: The Jersey Learning Difficulties team won the tournament last year in Bradford.
A stand out win for Ollie was in Bradford last year.
He said: "I went with the C team to Bradford last year to play in a tournament.
"I actually captained the Jersey team which was quite physically demanding but we went on to win the group.
"Thinking that 'I’m not sure I can do this anymore' to going on to win was great.
"It was a brilliant team, and all the lads were around me. It was fantastic.”
Ollie isn't just a football fanatic though, he explained that he will take his hand to just about any sport offered to him.
Having received the Tim Collins Memorial Trophy for Wheelchair Sportsperson of the Year award for his improvement in wheelchair basketball with the Jersey Wheelers, as well as picking up the Sir James Knott Trust Trophy for Ten Pin Bowler Player of the Year in 2023, it is clear that nothing is going to slow Ollie down in the sporting world.
And it is people like him, who don't give up and adapt as best they can, who are representing their countries in Paris this week.
"The Paralympics are inspirational," Ollie said. "The sports and the athletes are amazing."
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.