Jon Pollock

{{Short description|British wheelchair basketball player (born 1977)}} {{Good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox sportsperson | headercolor = Red | name = Jon Pollock | image = File:Eurobasket2007semifinal (cropped).JPG | image_size =  | caption = Pollock (right) in 2007 | birth_name = Jonathan Pollock | fullname = | nickname = Joni | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|5|11|df=y}} | birth_place = Liverpool, England | death_date = | death_place = | height =  | weight =  | website =  | country = Great Britain | sport = Wheelchair basketball | event = Men's team | collegeteam = | club = {{ubl|Widnes Raiders, UK|Oldham Owls, UK|Greenbank Academy, UK|C.D Fundosa Once, Spain|Wolves Rhinos, UK|RGK Panthers, UK|Sheffield Steelers, UK|Sydney WheelKings, Australia|Tabu Cantu, Italy|Once Sevilla, Spain}} | team = Bulldogs | turnedpro = | coach = | retired = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = | paralympics = | highestranking = | pb = | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Wheelchair basketball}} {{Medal|Country|{{GBR}}}} {{Medal|Competition|Paralympic Games}} {{Medal|Bronze|2004 Athens|Team}} {{Medal|Bronze|2008 Beijing|Team}} }} '''Jon Pollock''' (born 11 May 1977) is a British wheelchair basketball player. He was selected to train with the British wheelchair basketball squad in 1993.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/paralympics-gb/8725582/Jon-Pollock-Paralympics-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020003818/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/paralympics-gb/8725582/Jon-Pollock-Paralympics-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2011|title=Jon Pollock - Paralympics GB|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=21 August 2012}}</ref> Pollock has played at four Paralympic games: the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He won a bronze medal at the 2004 and the 2008 Paralympics.<ref name="Telegraph"/><ref name="Paralympics GB">{{cite web|url=http://www.paralympics.org.uk/gb/athletes/jon-pollock|title=Jon Pollock|publisher=British Paralympic Association|access-date=21 August 2012|archive-date=23 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123121326/http://www.paralympics.org.uk/gb/athletes/jon-pollock|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life== Pollock was born on 11 May 1977 in Liverpool, England, with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder. He currently lives in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in north west England.<ref name="GBWBA">{{cite web|url=http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/index.cfm/gb-teams/gb-players/gb-men/jon-pollock/|title=Jon Pollock|publisher=GBWBA|access-date=21 August 2012|archive-date=23 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121223223031/http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/index.cfm/gb-teams/gb-players/gb-men/jon-pollock/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/19228683|title=Paralympics 2012: GB wheelchair basketball men - who's who?|work=BBC News|date=23 August 2012|access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://paralympics.channel4.com/news-pictures/news/newsid=1233059/index.html|title=Meet GB men's wheelchair basketball team - Paralympics|publisher=Channel 4|date=31 May 2012|access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref>

==Wheelchair basketball== Pollock was a class 2.5 wheelchair basketball player and point/shooting guard.<ref name="Paralympics GB"/> He has been competing in wheelchair basketball for twenty years. In his twenty-year career, he has represented Team GB and Paralympics GB four times at various Summer Paralympic Games.<ref name="Paralympics GB"/>

Pollock first competed at the 1997 European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Madrid, Spain, winning silver. Two years later, he played in the 1999 European Championships in Roermond, Netherlands. He ended in fourth place with his team. In 2000, he was a member of Team GB in the 2000 Summer Paralympic Games, held in Sydney, Australia. Along with his team, they finished in fourth place; out of the medals. In 2001–02, he finished in fourth place at the 2001/2002 European championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the 2002 World Championships, he won silver after losing to USA in the final and was first selection in the World All Star 5, in Kitakyushu, Japan. He participated in the 2003 European Championships, in Sassari, Italy. He won bronze in this event.<ref name="Paralympics GB"/><ref name="GBWBA"/> In the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, he was in medal position. He finished, along with his team, in the bronze medal position. Two years after the Paralympics, he was at the 2006 World Championships in Amsterdam. He finished in fifth position. The following year, Pollock was at the 2007 European Championships, in Wetzlar, Netherlands. Along with his team, he finished in silver medal position. The following year, he was a member of the squad in the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing. Here, he won his second Paralympic bronze. In 2009 he won bronze in the European championships in Adana, southern Turkey. In 2010, he finished fifth, along with his team, in the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships, held in Birmingham.<ref name="Paralympics GB"/><ref name="GBWBA"/> At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, Pollock and the GB team got through to the semi-finals after beating Turkey,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/sep/05/great-britain-wheelchair-basketball-paralympics-2012|title=Paralympics 2012: GB wheelchair basketball men in semis after battle|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 September 2012|access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref> but lost against Canada 52–69, keeping them out of medal position.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/sep/07/paralympics-2012-britain-canada-basketball|title=Paralympics 2012: GB men crash out to Canada in basketball semi-final|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 September 2012|access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Jon}} Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:British men's wheelchair basketball players Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Category:Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Great Britain Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Category:Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Category:People with spina bifida Category:Sportspeople from Liverpool Category:Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball