JON Fox says that it will be fantastic to raise awareness of organ donation after he was selected for the 2019 World Transplant Games that are set to take place up in Gateshead next year.

Fox has previously won a silver medal, alongside badminton doubles partner Jamie Jessup, but is pleased to be able to promote organ donation in his home country with the Gateshead games.

Fox said: “It will be really good to play on home turf, with a few extra supporters there, and obviously to be able to promote organ donation in the UK at such a big event.

“It has proven to boost the awareness of organ donation in every country it has been held in.”

Earlier this year Fox was able to celebrate 20 years since his liver transplant, which happened when he was diagnosed with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited genetic disease when he was eight years old.

Fox said: “It is 20 years this year so it was absolutely amazing to be able to celebrate that.

“I also got married this year and we tried to make it as close as to my anniversary as possible just to try and have that extra good feeling about the day.

“It will be nice to get back to it again.”

Fox has also previously competed in swimming and athletics but is focusing on badminton, and is the co-ordinator of the badminton team, and hopes he can go one better than the silver medal he picked up last year.

Fox said: “It will be good to be back in the team again.

“Over the last few years I have just been playing the badminton singles and doubles at the World Games, with my same doubles partner that I have been playing with for the last 10 years now.

“It was great to win the silver last year in Malaga so we are hoping to do one better next year in Newcastle, so there is just lots of training in between.”

Fox is pleased with having more to do with the event in the run up to it, due to it being on home turf, and says the squad will be the largest squad they have taken to the games.

Fox said: “To be able to do it here is fantastic and also be able to have more to do with it in the run up.

“With Team GB we are having a lot more involvement with it because it is on home turf.

“I am still the badminton co-ordinator for the team.

“I think this is now our largest team we are going to be taking to the World Games, I think over 300 athletes in total.

“I am hoping we can top the medal table which would be good.”

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