Chris Ryan
Welwyn Garden City Chris Ryan
Welwyn Garden CityBiography
Chris had ambitions of becoming a pro-golfer when a car accident on the way home from an inter-collegiate tournament left him with a spinal injury that changed his life at the age of 17. Having been introduced to wheelchair rugby during rehab in Stoke Mandeville he quickly progressed to play for the GB team.
Chris experienced his first Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 and went on to captain the GB team to Paralympic gold in Tokyo, before deciding that he needed a new challenge and finding it in table tennis.
Having contacted British Para Table Tennis, Ryan was invited by Pathway manager Shaun Marples to a Pathway/Futures two-day camp in Sheffield in June 2022.
He started training regularly with the GB squad and made his international debut in the Costa Rica Spanish Open in March 2023. He achieved his first win and his first medal (bronze in the men’s class 2 singles) in the Greek Open six weeks later and followed that by taking bronze in the men’s class 1-2 singles in the US Open in July. Having been selected for the European Championships in Sheffield Chris underlined his promise despite losing both group matches in four close sets against more experienced opponents.
Many athletes would find it hard to start again in a new sport after reaching the pinnacle in another, but Chris feels that his previous experience gives him an advantage.
In 2024 Chris reached his first singles final and won his first gold medal in the men’s class 4 doubles at the Brazilian Open. He showed his continued improvement and huge potential in reaching the semi-finals of the Paralympic World Qualification Tournament in Thailand and is now focused on the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
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