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by Hayley Robinson
hrobinson@thekmgroup.co.uk
In just 24 days' time Steve Brown’s dream of playing at the London Paralympic Games will finally become a reality.
The 31-year-old, who is captain of Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team, is currently staying at the Paralympic GB holding camp in Norfolk.
He and his 10 teammates have been training at the Kings Lynn Sports Centre for the last five weeks.
When the training sessions end, Steve will return to his Sittingbourne home where he will spend just 48 hours with friends and family before heading off to London on August 26 to stay at the Olympic Village.
His team will play in the basketball arena inside the Olympic Park with the games set to take place from September 5-9.
They take on the United States first, followed by France and Japan.
He said: “USA will aways be the hardest game as they’re ranked number one in the world and are multi-gold medallists.
“But I think the team we’ve got now and the new members in the squad have brought a whole new angle to what GB can do.
“We’re hoping we’ll get through to the semi-finals and then the finals. Our target has always been to medal and I think we can achieve that.
“The closing ceremony is September 9 as well, so if everything goes to plan it will be the biggest party I’ve ever been to.”
His proud parents Paul and Christine will be there every day cheering him on.
Other family members will also visit on various days to watch him in action on the court but getting tickets hasn’t been easy.
He added: “Everyone is under the impression that as an athlete they’ll give us tickets but I only get two tickets to every game to give to friends and family.
“I’ve got four brothers let alone my mum and dad, so who do I choose?
“If I want more I still have to apply the same route as everyone else. Thankfully they’ve now all got tickets.”