Jomni is ready to race into his Paris 2024 dreams

Richmond's Moatez Jomni insists he is back to his best ahead of a tough year of Paralympic qualification.

The 34-year-old wheelchair racer took up the sport in 2012 and quickly rocketed to international acclaim, landing World Championship and European Championship medals as well as appearing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Back in action at the World Para Athletics Meet in Switzerland in May, Jomni recorded two personal best times on the track.

And despite narrowly missing out on World Championship selection earlier this month, the T53 athlete is thrilled to be making his mark once more.

"In Switzerland, I took the new chair, which my SportsAid funding helped to get, and that put me in a really good spot for World Championship selection," he said.

"But it wasn't meant to be, and I missed it by just a millisecond as I hadn't fully got used to the chair yet.

"I've been breaking the chair in since and recently I broke my personal best in the 800m and 400m, which put me straight from the top 10 to fifth in the world.

"I used my old chair for such a long time before and obviously with old chairs, the materials degrade. Now, with a fresh chair, I've been so happy.

"I was really happy that I actually knew I could get those PBs and do it and I just have to keep my head up for the Paralympics next year.”

Jomni’s Paralympic debut saw him finish eighth in the men's T53 400m and is now determined to be on the plane to Paris next summer.

He has expanded his racing repertoire in recent months to include some shorter and longer races as he rebuilds his fitness, including a fourth-place finish in the 1500m at the recent London Athletics Meet, clocking a time of 3:17.22.

"The idea is to be more intense next year," he said.

"Along with my coaches, we have been putting forward any ideas on where I need to be and where I'm lacking.

"I really want to focus on the sprint side of things, as that's how you make mark on the track before you make it anywhere, so I'm mainly focused on the sprints, which is a bit foreign to me.

"I do the occasional 100m just to warm up into the atmosphere of the of the crowd but it's fun.

"I love the 400m, but it's a love-hate relationship because if you can do that you can do anything else and with the 800m of course it's a challenge because you have to hold on not that top speed or play smart.

"At some of my recent competitions, I've been doing the 1500m which is not my race, but it's all an opportunity for improvement and a challenge.

"It's all about maintaining the speed and see how everyone else is going to play it.

"I achieved two personal bests last year, so I'll do anything to fight and get a PB again."

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more