 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Harrison | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 June 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 2.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Victorian Thunder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Andrew Harrison, OAM (born 7 June 1987) is a wheelchair rugby player. He has won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics. [1] and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. [2]
Andrew John Harrison was born on 7 June 1987 in Bayswater North, Victoria. [3] [4] [5] [6] At the age of seventeen, he became a quadriplegic as a result of a 2004 diving accident when he jumped head first into a shallow river. He spent time recovering and undergoing physical therapy at Kew's Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. [4] [7] His accident is one of the reasons he was part of a campaign called "Don’t Drink and Dive" which encouraged people to be careful when diving. [7] His hobbies include four-wheelers, cars and off-road buggies, which he can drive despite his injuries. [3] [4] [8] As of 2021 [update] , he lives in Bayswater North, Victoria, [8] is a student [4] and works as a Spinchat Coordinator. [5] He is married to Lisa and they have a son Jack who was born on 1 January 2015.
Harrison is a 2.0 point wheelchair rugby player. [3] As of 2012 [update] , he has a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport. [5]
While Harrison was rehabilitating following his accident, he was visited by a member of the national wheelchair rugby team who encouraged him to try the sport. [4] He made his first Victorian state representative team in 2006, not long after his accident. That year, his Victorian side finished third in the National Wheelchair Rugby League and he was named the rookie of the year. In 2009, he played for the West Coast Enforcers and finished the season being named to the league's all star four. He changed teams and played for Victorian Thunder in 2010, and was again named to the league's all star four. He was with the Victorian side again in 2012. [4] [5] [9] [10] [11]
The first time Harrison was invited to a national team training camp was in 2007. [4] He then went on to play in an international match against the New Zealand national wheelchair rugby team that year at the Oceania Regional Championships. [3] [5] While he was considered for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, he was ultimately not selected. [4] Following this brief appearance, he did not make the national team again until 2010 when he was a member of the team at the Four Nations Tournament. [3] That year, he was also a member of the Australian team that competed at the World Championships. [4] Wearing jersey number 15, he represented Australia at the 2012 Canada Cup. [8] In May 2012, he participated in a test series against Japan in Sydney. [12] He scored four goals in the fourth game which Australia won 47 – 44, and two goals in the fifth game where Australia won 61 – 55. [13] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair rugby. [3] Going into London, his team was ranked second in the world behind the United States. [14] He was part of the team that won the gold medal. [15] The Australian team went through the five-day tournament undefeated. [16]
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. [17]
At the 2018 IWRF World Championship in Sydney, Australia, 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. [18]
In 2020, he is the captain of the Power House Wheelchair Rugby Club in Victoria. [19]
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 Steelers not having a team training since March 2020 prior to Tokyo. [20]
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." [6]
Wheelchair rugby is a sport with national representation at the Paralympic games. The Australian Team is known as the 'Steelers'.
Cameron Carr, is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair rugby player. He has won a silver medal at the 2008 Paralympics and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.
Jason Lees, is a wheelchair rugby player from Victoria and was a member of the Australian Steelers that won the gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Ryley Batt, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five Paralympic Games.
Gregory Stephen Smith, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair rugby player who won three gold medals in athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, and a gold medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where he was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Nazim Erdem, is an Australian wheelchair rugby Paralympic gold and silver medalist. He has won two gold and two silver medals at five Paralympics from 2000 to 2016.
Brad Dubberley is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair rugby Head Coach and former athlete. He won a silver medal as an athlete at the 2000 Sydney Games and as the head coach at the 2008 Beijing Games in the mixed wheelchair rugby event. He is the head coach of the Australian Wheelchair Rugby team known as the Australian Steelers.
Ryan Scott, 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.
Cody Meakin, is a wheelchair rugby player. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair rugby.
Joshua Anthony "Josh" Hose, is a wheelchair rugby player. He has won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Ben Newton, is a wheelchair rugby player. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair rugby.
Christopher Adam Bond, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Benjamin John Fawcett is an Australian wheelchair rugby player and member of the national wheelchair rugby team. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a member of the Australian Steelers and also went to the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Jayden Warn is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a member of the Australian Steelers and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Michael "Mick" Ozanne is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
The Sweden national wheelchair rugby team represents Sweden in international wheelchair rugby. Sweden is the second most successful team in European competition, winning four gold medals at the European Championship. They have reached three Summer Paralympics, with their best finish being 5th in the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Andrew John Edmondson is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a member of the Australian Steelers. He has been selected for 2020 Summer Paralympics, his second Games.
The Japan national wheelchair rugby team (日本全国車椅子ラグビーチーム) represents Japan in international wheelchair rugby. Japan is the third most successful team in the Asia-Oceania region, finishing outside the medal places only once in eight appearances at the IWRF Asia-Oceania Championship. Japan have won the tournament once, in 2015 and are also the 2014 Asian Para Games champions. They have reached four Summer Paralympics, with their best finish being 4th in the 2012 Games in London.
Jake Howe is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Richard Voris is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, his first Games.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
