Inspirational figures from communities at the heart of the Paralympics will carry the flame on its way to tomorrow’s spectacular opening ceremony for the Games.
Five local heroes from Hackney have been given the honour of taking part in the 24-hour relay which starts tonight at Stoke Mandeville stadium and finishes at the Olympic Park in Stratford.
Joining a host of sporting legends carrying the flame will be Amir Laksari, whose vision in setting up a basketball club helped to produce World Cup winner Ade Adepitan.
He has suffered from polio since he was two, set up Hackney Sparrows with Leroy Dobson in 1987 and it has been a breeding ground for British talent ever since.
Mr Laksari, 50, is qualified as a maths and computing teacher at Hackney Community College, where the Sparrows also train. He got involved with the Hackney Sparrows by chance, when he was approached in the street by Mr Dobson.
“He came up to me and asked if I wanted to try basketball,” said Mr Laksari. “I thought he might be bullying me because of my disability. But he wasn’t and after I tried it I fell in love with the sport.”
The club has grown massively since its inception, with Adepitan, just one of its famous alumni. He won bronze at the Athens Games in 2004 and a year later hit a shot in overtime to seal Team GB’s victory in the Paralympic World Cup.
Also coming from its ranks is Ade Orogbemi, who will compete at London 2012, Team GB assistant wheelchair basketball coach Sinclair Thomas and Tim Rushby-Smith, who will also carry the flame.
Television presenter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, who is part of the Channel 4 team covering the Paralympics and a former junior GB player, remains a dedicated member of the squad.
Father-of three Mr Laksari, from Turnpike Lane, said he was “immensely proud” of taking part in the relay.
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The torch was set to be forged from four national flames at the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement at Stoke Mandeville tonight before setting off on its journey.
Joining Mr Laksari on the Berkhamsted leg of the relay just before midnight will be Aneurin Wood, head of equality and disability inclusion at the Hackney Learning Trust.
The 30-year-old, from Camden, was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair when travelling long distances. In the late Nineties he captained Chelsea Football Club’s multi-disabled team for four years.
He said: “I’m hoping the Paralympics will show everyone that people with disabilities are more than able to compete at an elite level, just like our Olympians.”
Also taking part will be Kayum Choudhury, who coaches bowling sport boccia, and England wheelchair badminton player Sharon Jones-Barnes.
The lighting of the Paralympic flame tomorrow will herald the start of what is expected to be the best-attended Games ever.
