Jack Hunter-Spivey has won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games - and has helped achieve a wish granted by Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool fan Jack, who grew up in Anfield, has won the gold medal for men’s singles table tennis event in Birmingham. He beat Nigeria's Nasiru Sule 3-1 to bring the medal back to Merseyside.
The 27-year-old had previously harboured hopes of being a professional footballer, with Steven Gerrard an idol of his. Born with cerebral palsy, Hunter-Spivey instead took up para table tennis and has brought home the gold with his efforts at the Commonwealth Games.
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"It feels so special,” Hunter-Spivey said after winning the gold medal. “When I was a kid I wanted to be the next Steven Gerrard and to be at Anfield but this is my Anfield and the crowd were the 12th man. It is so surreal and I want to do it all again.”
In an interview with the ECHO earlier this week, Hunter-Spivey explained how he has previously had conversations with Klopp following his previous events. The Liverpool fan said how the Reds boss had made requests to him after their first meeting in 2016.
“Like any other child in Liverpool, I wanted to be the next Steven Gerrard,” Jack told the ECHO. “I didn’t really understand why I wasn’t like the other kids and couldn’t run as fast or walk. Liverpool still runs through my whole family and it’s a massive part of my life.
“I met Jurgen Klopp in 2016 after the Paralympics and hopefully I can meet him again in the future. He just told me ‘Well done in the Paralympics’ and asked me to bring some medals back for Liverpool. He’s done that since 2016 so hopefully we can both carry on winning and go in the same path.
“I think sport plays a massive part regarding people’s mental health because not only is competing and exercising amazing but watching sport also gives you release and break from everyday life. It’s something to look forward to and table tennis has given me a lot more than just medals. Hopefully I can push on now and show everyone what I can do.”
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