Ryan Scott (wheelchair rugby)

Ryan Scott
	2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Scott
Personal information
Nationality	Australia
Born	3 March 1982 (age 42); Brisbane
Sport
Disability class	0.5
Medal record
Wheelchair rugby
Paralympic Games
World Championships

Ryan Scott, OAM (born 3 March 1982)^[1] is a Paralympic wheelchair rugby competitor from Australia. In four Paralympics, Scott has won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.^[2]

Personal

Scott was born on 3 March 1982. On 6 June 1998 as a 16-year-old, he became a quadriplegic due to a car crash on a country road en route to Victor Harbor, South Australia.^[3]^[1]^[4] At the time of the accident, he was a year 11 student at Willunga High School.^[3] The accident left Scott paralysed from his chest down but he has some movement in his shoulders, back, biceps and forearms.^[3] He moved to Brisbane from Adelaide in 2009 due to the warm weather and due to Queensland having a good wheelchair rugby program.^[5]

Wheelchair rugby

Scott took up wheelchair rugby as part of his rehabilitation. Scott said "I always loved sport and participated in all kinds of sport – soccer, basketball, Aussie rules, pretty much every sport except able-bodied rugby. As a quadriplegic, I didn’t have the upper-body strength to play wheelchair basketball. When I saw wheelchair rugby, that’s when I thought that sport was still possible."^[3] Scott made his debut for the Australian team 'Steelers' in August 2001.^[4] He was a member of the Steelers that came fifth at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.^[4] He won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the mixed wheelchair rugby event.^[6] He won a gold medal at the 2012 London Games in the mixed wheelchair rugby event.^[6]

He was a member of the Steelers that finished with the silver medal at the 2010 World Championships and gold medal at the 2014 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships at Odense, Denmark.^[7]

Scott captained the Australian team that retained its gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics after defeating the United States 59–58 in the final.^[8]

At the 2018 World Championships in Sydney, he was a member of the Australian team that won the silver medal after being defeated by Japan 61–62 in the gold medal game.^[9]

During his career he was co-captain and captain of the Steelers (2012–2016)^[4] and played for the Suncorp Queensland Cyclones in the Wheelchair Rugby National League.^[10]

Scott said "because of wheelchair rugby I’ve been able to travel the world playing a team sport, I have represented my county at three Paralympic Games, which is huge. It has also made me a much more independent person."^[5]

In September 2018, after 288 Steelers games, he announced his retirement from international wheelchair rugby.^[11]

Recognition

2012 - Order of Australia (OAM) - for service to sport as a gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.^[12]
2015 - Sporting Wheelie of the Year - Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association^[13]
2016 - Senior Male Athlete of the Year - Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association with Chris Bond.^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b Media guide : Beijing 2008 (PDF). Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015.
^ "Steelers aim to maintain their reign in Rio". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 25 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lawrence, Ellisa (5 September 2016). "Paralympics 2016: We're the Superhumans - Queensland's champions". Courier Mail. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ryan Scott". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Wheelchair rugby player Ryan Scott gears up for fourth Paralympics in Rio". Courier Mail. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
^ "Australia wins first ever IWRF World Championship". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
^ Lees, Chris (19 September 2016). "Steelers double up with Paralympics gold". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ "Results". IWRF Wheelchaair Rugby World Championships website. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^ "Suncorp Queensland Cyclones wheelchair rugby team". Sporting Wheelies and Disabled website. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
^ "Steelers legend retires from wheelchair rugby". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ "Ryan Scott". It's An Honour website. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ "Ryan Scott named 2015 Sporting Wheelie of the Year". Sportsing Wheelies and Disabled Association website. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ "2016 Annual Awards winners". Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association website. Retrieved 15 December 2016.