Ade Adipetan MBE, Paralympian

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There’s not much that Ade Adepitan hasn’t accomplished. The super enthusiastic Paralympian has won medals at the highest level, completed the London marathon, and succeeded as a sports commentator and actor. Ade’s 18 years in Wheelchair Basketball saw him gain over 90 caps for Great Britain, with career highlights including winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and gold at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. After his retirement from Wheelchair Basketball, Ade decided to focus on a new challenge and, since 2007, has been training and competing in Wheelchair Tennis.

Ade was an integral part of the delegation that went to Singapore to win the 2012 Olympic bid for London and also travelled with the Paralympic team to Beijing 2008, where he witnessed the GB men’s team achieve a bronze medal by beating the USA in their final game.

Ade became interested in wheelchair basketball after watching coverage of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. He gave the sport a spin and, after triumphing at the Stoke Mandeville Junior Games, never looked back. His swift manoeuvres and fast, accurate throwing on court helped propel Great Britain’s basketball team to glory, and the team has continued to strive forward since his retirement in 2006.

Ade’s hard work and enthusiasm make him a worthy role model and important ambassador to British Paralympians. His services to disabled sport have been recognised at many levels, with the Queen awarding Ade an MBE in the 2005 Birthday Honours list and Loughborough University presenting him with an Honorary Doctorate in 2006. His dedication to disabled sport has played a pivotal role in building the exposure and development of the Paralympic Games in London 2012.

Ade is a patron of the disabled sport charity, WheelPower, The Association of Wheelchair Children and Scope, and is also an ambassador for the NSPCC and The Prince’s Trust.

In 2007, Ade decided to switch to Wheelchair Tennis. His first competition was at the British National Championships in 2007 and he began to receive full coaching in April 2008. This year has seen Ade compete in Australia and South Africa and, with his ranking now inside the top 94 for singles and top 77 for doubles, he is fully focused on achieving a ranking high enough to put himself in contention to compete on his home turf at London 2012.