Britain’s Jawad comes out of retirement for LA 2028

Former world champion powerlifter Ali Jawad has come out of retirement after going into remission from Crohn’s disease.

Jawad won silver for Great Britain in the -59kg category at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The 36-year-old retired after the Tokyo Games in 2021, when he finished sixth after effectively self-isolating for three years because of Crohn’s and the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Jawad has since gone into remission and the Briton says he is back in training with a view to reaching the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

“I’m making a comeback. One last roll of the dice. One last chapter to write”, he posted on Instagram.

“I don’t know where this road will take me, but what I do know is this: I will finish on my terms.

” No expectations on medals or world records but If LA 2028 is where my story truly ends, then I’ll fight with everything I have to make it a Hollywood ending.

Jawad was born in Lebanon with no legs below the knee. His family moved to the UK when he was a baby as the conflict with Israel intensified.

The Briton was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease – a lifelong condition which causes inflammation of the digestive system – after being struck down with flu-like symptoms and diarrhoea the night before his Paralympic debut at the 2008 Games.

“I was on all fours in pain on the floor, sometimes I’d pass out from it”, Jawad told BBC Sport in 2021.

“I couldn’t eat, I was seeing blood in the toilet and I lost about two stone in body weight in about eight weeks and knew something was seriously wrong”.