A true “home-grown athlete,” after an encounter with a roadside bomb, Fatah came from Somalia to Scarborough for a better life. Never letting his disability define him, or hinder his love of sport, he joined Variety as a teenager, where he quickly displayed a talent for wheelchair basketball.

According to Sportsnet: “If you ask him what he thinks about having his disability, the first thing he says is “There are people who have it so much worse than I do,”’ Lancia said. “You just think about it…. So when they don’t have the fresh lettuce in the grocery, and I’m upset about that, what you just said kind of puts that in perspective.’ He’s just that kind of guy.”

Fatah’s talent then led him to the local Rolling Rebels wheelchair club, and later the Canadian Junior National Team, where he found great success, including winning first at Brazil’s World Junior Championship Games. He also won first in the Canadian Games with Team Ontario in 1999.

Perhaps Fatah’s greatest achievement, however, was his nomination to the Canadian Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team, where he was named three times to the National Championship All-Star Team (2009-2012) and competed in three Paralympic Games. His medal count includes silver at the 2008 Beijing, Paralympic Games, and gold at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, both in Men’s Wheelchair Basketball.

An inspiration to all, Fatah has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Sport Alliance of Ontario’s  Male Athlete with a Disability of the Year Award (2009), and Team MVP for the Canadian Junior National Team (1997). He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to the sport in 2013.

In addition to his athletic achievements, Fatah is a scholar, studying Finance and Business in school.