Henry Patient believes camaraderie is key in wheelchair fencing as he looks to follow in the footsteps of his idols and earn Paralympic medals.

Tonbridge’s Patient, 23, is one of the fastest rising British prospects in his sport, earning him selection on a prestigious SportsAid programme for a second time.

He has gone from strength-to-strength after kicking off 2024 with a top-32 Wheelchair Fencing World Cup finish in Cardiff, Wales - his biggest achievement to date.

But wheelchair fencing means much more to Patient than fame or glory and he is part of a community which sees everyone from novices to Paralympic greats lean on each other.

“Community is a big thing,” he said. “Everyone I've met in the sport has always been super nice and super helpful.

“The first training camp I ever went to, which was just run by some lady in a local school hall, had a couple of the Paralympians come down and train with us for the weekend. I think that really kind of sets the tone.

“Even the people right at the top - one of the guys, Dimitri Coutya, just won two individual golds and two team medals - he was there just chatting to everybody, inspiring us and giving out tips.

“I think, because it's quite a small community in the UK, it’s a really, small, close-knit group.

“Everyone from beginners right up through to the Paralympic guys all work together and everyone is aware of the daily struggles.”

Being in such close contact with British sporting icons, such as Coutya and eight-time Paralympic medallist Piers Gilliver, acts as motivation for Patient.

“Inspiring is a good choice of words,” he added. “They’re phenomenal athletes and they're both so lovely and so grounded.

“My ambition is definitely to go to a Games. I’d like to go to Los Angeles because I think that will be a pretty remarkable Games, but Brisbane would also be pretty amazing.

“The problem with making the team is that Dimitri and Piers are maybe the two best wheelchair fencers who've ever done the sport so there's about six people competing for that last third spot.

“We’ll see what comes of that. It might be that they retire after 2028, and then there's space for the rest of us to kind of fill the void.

“But we’ll see - 2028 is a dream, but I think 2032 is the one I'm looking at as a lot more of a sensible target.”

Patient is one of 50 athletes across a multitude of sports supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain - owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.

The grant has been immensely valuable to Patient in funding his progression, not only providing him with the training necessary, but also allowing him to travel to major events and stamp his mark on the bigger stage.

He said: “The money allowed me to go to my first actual senior World Cup - my first proper international competition down in Cardiff, which was amazing.

“That was a big chunk of the grant and another big chunk of it went to getting some more kit, but the main thing it's allowed me to do this year is actually start going to one of the places you can properly train as a wheelchair fencer in London.

“Being able to break into that space and then be able to get some coaching from the guy who coaches the world number one, that's really the next phase.

“It's going to let me be able to seriously entertain, either the 2028 or 2032 Paralympic Games as more realistic targets.”

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.