Commonwealth Games 2022: Team NI to send biggest number of Para-Sports athletes to Birmingham

Team NI will send its biggest ever representation of Para-Sports athletes to this summer's Commonwealth Games.

Eleven athletes will travel to Birmingham in search of medals this July.

Wheelchair basketball makes its debut at the Games after Team NI booked their spot by beating hosts Scotland in overtime at the European qualifier.

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Nathan McCabe was the hero for Team NI by sinking the winning basket, and the 18-year-old - whose mother Mary is a double Paralympic medalist - didn’t even know his basket had won the game to send the team to the Commonwealth Games.

“It was an amazing feeling but to be honest I didn’t realise," he said.

"I thought you had to win by two clear points, I thought we needed another point.

"I get the rebound of a shot from James (MacSorley) and I thought we still had to go at it but we when they said game over it just all just came at once and I was overwhelmed by emotion and it was one of the best feelings I ever had.”

McCabe is joined on the 3x3 Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team by James MacSorley.

The Belfast man plays professionally in Spain for Bidaideak Bilbao and has won World championships with Great Britain at U23 and Senior level alongside a bronze medal at last summer’s Tokyo Paralympics.

Con Nagle and Matt Rolston make up the strong Team NI quartet.

Three para-triathletes will compete for Team NI at the Games, the Maccombe twins Chole and Judith and Oliver Gunning.

“We got into triathlon by accident,” explained Chole.

“We were part of the para rowing team for Ireland but that fell through a little bit. We went to a Team Ireland expo event and bumped into the triathlon guys and they asked us could we swim, cycle