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Ryley Batt

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Ryley Batt
2020-Steelers Ryley Batt 07 CC.jpg
Ryley Batt in 2020
Personal information
Born (1989-05-22) 22 May 1989 (age 32)
Sport
SportWheelchair rugby
Disability class3.5
TeamAustralian Steelers (2003–current)
Medal record
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Mixed
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Mixed
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio Mixed
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2010 Vancouver Mixed
Gold medal – first place 2014 Odense Mixed
Silver medal – second place 2018 Sydney Mixed

Ryley Batt, OAM (born 22 May 1989)[1] is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five Paralympic Games.

Biography[]

Batt avoiding Buckingham from New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics

Ryley Douglas Batt was born on 22 May 1989 without legs and had surgery to separate his webbed fingers.[1][2] Up to the age of twelve, he did not use a wheelchair, preferring to move around on a skateboard.[1]

He was convinced to use a wheelchair when he saw a demonstration of wheelchair rugby at his school, and took up the sport shortly afterwards in that year.[1] He first participated in the Australian Steelers in 2002.[3] He was part of the national team at the 2004 Athens Games, where he was the youngest Paralympic rugby player in the world at the age of 15,[3] the 2008 Beijing Games, where the team won a silver medal,[4] and the 2012 London Games, when the team won a gold medal.[5]

From 2006 to 2010, he was the national team's most valuable player.[3]

He competed in the 2010 World Rugby Wheelchair Championships, where his team won a silver medal,[3] and he won the most valuable player award.[6] He was a member of the Australian team that won its first world championship gold medal at the 2014 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships at Odense, Denmark.[7]

Batt interviewed outside the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year ceremony

He was a member of the 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 IWRF World Championship 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] He was the only Australian named in the 2018 IWRF World Championship All-Tournament Team.[10]

At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, the Steelers finished fourth after being defeated by Japan 52–60 in the bronze medal game. COVID travel restrictions led to the Steelers not having a team training session since March 2020 prior to Tokyo.[11]

He lives in the New South Wales city of Port Macquarie, and leads the New South Wales Gladiators and the San Diego Sharp Edge in the United States.[1]


Ryley Batt in action in 2007

Recognition[]

Batt was a finalist for the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year.[12] He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[2]

In November 2014, he won three awards at the New South Wales Institute of Sport Awards – ClubsNSW Male Athlete of the Year, Office of Communities, Sport and Recreation Regional Athlete of the Year and Quest Serviced Apartments Team Athlete of the Year.[13]

In November 2019, Batt with Daniela Di Toro was named co-captain of the Australian Team at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[14] On 23 August 2021, Batt and Di Toro were announced as the flagbearers for the Australian team for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony.[15]

References[]

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ryley Batt". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ryley Batt". Australian Athletes with a Disability. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Steelers win wheelchair rugby gold". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Ryley Batt – Paralympic Games". Greater Port Macquarie Focus. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Australia wins first ever IWRF World Championship". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  8. ^ Lees, Chris (19 September 2016). "Steelers double up with Paralympics gold". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Results". IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championships website. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ^ Greenway, Bea (10 August 2018). "Sydney 2018: Day Six Review". International Wheelchair Rugby Federation website. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Australia names wheelchair rugby team of 12 for Tokyo 2020". Inside The Games. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Freney favourite to win top Paralympian". Australian Associated Press. 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Batt and Fox dominate NSWIS awards". New South Wales Institute of Sport News. 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Di Toro and Batt to captain 2020 Australian Paralympic Team". Paralympics Australia. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Two Of Australia's Greatest Paralympians Bestowed Flagbearer Honour". Paralympics Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

External links[]

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