June 24, 2025 - 604 views
Wheelchair basketball star Alex Marshall-Wilson will give a talk at Coleg Llandrillo on inclusive sport opportunities - fresh from helping Team GB to bronze in the under-23 World Championships.
Alex, from Deganwy, was vice-captain of the GB squad which finished third in the global tournament in Brazil last week.
The former Coleg Llandrillo student will return to the Rhos-on-Sea campus this Thursday to lead the final ‘Peak Performance’ seminar of the academic year.
The seminar, which starts at 6pm at the University Centre, is open to the public and is FREE to attend. You can book your place here: www.gllm.ac.uk/peak-performance.
As well as talking about opportunities and barriers within disability sport, Alex will give an insight into his own journey, from playing community para sports to helping GB win last year’s European under-23 championships.
The Sheffield Steelers forward said: “I’ll be talking about where we can open up more adaptive sporting opportunities for people who have disabilities, and how we can let people know what opportunities are out there.
“I’ll also be looking at how we can overcome barriers in disability sport, and sharing a bit of my story - how I’ve come through disability sport and how it’s helped me, which I hope will inspire a few people.”
Alex has femur fibula ulna syndrome, a rare condition which meant he was born with shorter thigh, calf and forearm bones, as well as missing muscle in his right forearm.
He started using a wheelchair from the age of 10 after nerve damage caused his left leg to be paralysed.
Alex took up wheelchair basketball after his physiotherapist put him in touch with Mark Richards, the Disability Sport Officer for Conwy, who was also the coach of local team Conwy Thunder.
Having studied Level 3 Sport at Coleg Llandrillo, Alex has just finished the second year of a degree in sport psychology at Loughborough University, and plays for Sheffield Steelers in the British Wheelchair Basketball National League.
After finishing university, the 21-year-old hopes to secure a contract playing professionally in Europe, and has his sights on the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
But first up his focus was on the Worlds in Brazil, where GB beat Australia 67-60 in the third-place play-off final. Britain beat Japan, South Africa, Thailand, Italy, the USA and Brazil during the tournament, suffering their only defeat to Turkiye (57-52) in the semi-final.
The World Championship was won by Germany, who beat Turkiye 71-66 in the final.
Alex Marshall-Wilson’s Peak performance seminar on Inclusive Sport takes place at the Coleg Llandrillo University Centre, Rhos-on-Sea campus, on Thursday, June 26 (6pm). To book your place, visit: www.gllm.ac.uk/peak-performance
