Billy Shilton

Table Tennis

Region

Stonehouse (Gloucestershire)
Date of Birth

08/10/1998
Classification

Class 8 singles, class 14 doubles

Billy secured qualification for Paris by winning gold in the men’s class 8 singles at the Costa Brava Spanish Open.

He started playing table tennis at the age of 12 after watching his dad Michael play in a local league tournament ~~after realising ~~ having realised his impairment wouldn’t allow him to play football anymore. Billy was diagnosed at the age of five with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a group of inherited conditions that damage nerves outside the brain and spine.

The Gloucestershire athlete was first spotted by the British team at the UK School Games in 2012 and made a major impact at the European Championships in 2015 at the age of 16, taking bronze in the men’s class 7 singles and silver with Will Bayley in the men’s class 7 team event.

Following a reclassification to Class 8, he missed out on a Paralympic debut at Rio 2016 but he made it to Tokyo 2020, where he won bronze~~ as part of the Class 8 Team~~ in the men’s class 8 team event.

His most recent success was at the 2022 World Championships in Andalucia, where he won gold in the men’s class 14 doubles with Paul Karabardak and bronze in the mixed class 14 doubles with Fliss Pickard.

Career Highlights

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Men’s team (Class 8): Bronze

2020: Polish Open – silver, men’s singles (class 8)

2019: European Championships, Sweden – silver, men’s teams (class 8)

Czech Open – gold, men’s singles (class 8)

Bangkok Open, Thailand – silver, men’s singles (class 8)

Polish Open – silver, men’s singles (class 8); gold, men’s teams (class 8)

2017: European Championships, Lasko, Slovenia – bronze, men’s teams (class 8)

2016: Romania Junior Open - gold, men’s singles (class 8)

2015: Belgian Open - gold, men’s singles (class 8)

European Championships, Vejle, Denmark - bronze, men’s singles (class 7); silver, men’s teams (class 7)

Slovenia Open - gold, men’s teams (class 7)

2014: Slovenia Open - gold, men’s teams (class 7)

Sign up to our email list to get updates on the team and the inside track on our sporting heroes – We're building a movement, with your support, to break down barriers for disabled people across the UK.

First Name

Last Name

Email address

I am over 18 and would like to receive emails about news, fundraising and how I can get involved with ParalympicsGB