'There is a life after' - England win the inaugural European Transplant Championships

But very few have climbed as many seemingly unsurmountable obstacles as the England Transplant Team, and their glorious success at the inaugural European Championships was the crowning moment of an emotional odyssey. 

Every medal winner has a story to tell, and Jon Bailey, from Wolverhampton, spoke to the Express & Star to tell his. 

"From a very young age, I was diagnosed with auto immune hepatitis, that turned into primary sclerosing cholangitis, which is a disease that was attacking my liver from the start," Bailey reveals.

"I've had to go on anti-rejection tablets but because it went undetected for so long, it was damaged to the point where it was all scar tissue around it. 

"Eventually I had to get it transplanted in June 2021 and it was in the hospital that I first heard about events such as sporting activities so I put my name down for it." 

Almost four years on, Bailey is among a cohort of pioneers looking to demonstrate that there "is a life after a transplant". 

England roared to success in the finals at Oxford with wins over Wales, Spain, Ireland and Scotland propelling them to the final. 

Kevin Kyley scored a last-minute final in a 1-0 win over Italy in the final to confirm the Three Lions' status as European champions. 

But the purpose behind the event transcends the confines of the pitch and has proven life-changing for all involved.

"Through the whole process, you don't really know a lot about it and you feel alone a lot of the time," Bailey explains.

"But with the amount of people you meet at these events, you can see that a lot of people are going through the same thing and it's not as rare as you think. 

"When you go through something like that, you don't really think you've got much of a physical life after, but I've built myself up and feel a lot better about myself." 

The first Transplant World Cup was hosted in Italy last year and featured the likes of eventual champions Chile, Australia and the United States.

And Bailey is hopeful that they can build on the early foundations and raise awareness not just nationally, but also across the globe.

"We're looking to build on that next year. There is one planned again next year in the World Cup which we're trying to play in Spain. 

"But basically we're hoping to have a tournament every year. The world champions last year were Chile, we had Australia and USA there at the World Cup. So there is potential to go all over the place.

"The whole idea is to show that there is life after a transplant. Just to have that conversation with family members if you do put yourself on a donor list and make your wishes known. 

"A lot of the time, people go on a transplant list and their families don't know about it. So they can ultimately reject them being donated but we just want to show that it's a valuable thing to a lot of people."