Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Ella Louise Sabljak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 17 October 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Wheelchair basketball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Queensland Comets (basketball) Bond University Rugby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ella Sabljak (born 17 October 1991) is an Australian 1.0 point wheelchair basketball and 2.5 wheelchair rugby player. She represented Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in basketball and at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she won a bronze medal in wheelchair rugby with the Steelers. [1] [2]
Ella Louise Sabljak was born on 17 October 1991. [3] She has hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (type 2) which means the loss of muscle tone below the knee as well as in my forearm. [4] She studied education at Griffith University in Queensland, and is a qualified primary school teacher. [5] The university awarded her a full blue for wheelchair basketball in 2015. [6] [7] She lives on the Gold Coast with her partner Matt McShane, a wheelchair basketballer. [4]
A 1.0 point Guard, she began playing wheelchair basketball for the Brisbane-based Queensland Comets in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League in 2011. [8] The Comets won the league championship in 2014, a year in which she was named the league Most Valuable Player 1-pointer. In 2015, she averaged three points and four rebounds per game. [3] She also played with the mixed National Wheelchair Basketball League competition. [9]
In 2011, she was part of the Australian junior team (the Devils) at the 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, winning silver. [10] Four years later she was captain of the Devils at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, again winning silver. [3]
She made her senior international debut with the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team (the Gliders) that year at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013. [11] She subsequently played for the Gliders at the Osaka Cup in February 2015, [12] the 2015 IWBF Asia-Oceania Championships in Chiba, Japan, in October 2015, the Osaka Cup in February 2016, [13] [14] and the 2017 IWBF Asia-Oceania Championships in Beijing in October 2017. [15]
She represented Australia at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship where the team came ninth.
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the Gliders finished ninth after winning the 9th–10th classification match. [16]
She was a member of the Australian team that won the silver medal in the 3x3 Women's tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Sabljak classified as a 2.5 player won her first world championship gold medal at the 2022 IWRF World Championship in Vejle, Denmark, when Australia defeated the United States. [17]
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics, she was a member of the Steelers that won the bronze medal defeating Great Britain 50–48. [18]
The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team is the women's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Gliders. The team hasn't won a gold medal for Australia since it began competing at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, however it has won either the silver or bronze medal since the 2000 Summer Paralympics held in Sydney. Gliders finished 6th at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship but did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
Clare Nott is a former Australian 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who played for the Kilsyth Cobras in the Women's national Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) and for the Red Dust Heelers in the mixed National Wheelchair basketball League (NWBL). She participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal.
Cobi Crispin is a 4 point wheelchair basketball forward from Western Australia. She began playing wheelchair basketball in 2003 when she was 17 years old. The Victorian Institute of Sport and Direct Athlete Support (DAS) program have provided assistance to enable her to play. She played club basketball in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) for the Victorian Dandenong Rangers in 2012 after having previously played for the Western Stars. In 2015 she began playing for the Minecraft Comets. She played for the University of Alabama in the United States in 2013–15.
Melanie Domaschenz is an Australian wheelchair basketball player who is part of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team. She won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing with the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders.
Hannah Dodd is an Australian Grade IV equestrian and 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who represented Australia in equestrian at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, coming 11th and 12th in her events. Switching to wheelchair basketball, she made her debut with the national team at the Osaka Cup in February 2015.
Sarah Vinci is a 1 point wheelchair basketball player who plays for the Perth Western Stars in the Australian Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League. She made her debut with the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, in 2011, when she played in the Osaka Cup in Japan. Vinci represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in wheelchair basketball, winning a silver medal. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Amber Merritt is a 4.5-point wheelchair basketball player who plays forward. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal and at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Georgia Inglis is a 2.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She was part of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, and at the Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers in Bangkok in November 2013. She played with the Perth Western Stars team that won the Women's National Wheelchair basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2013.
Caitlin De Wit is a 3.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She was part of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, and the Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers in Bangkok in November 2013. She played with the Hills Hornets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and the Sydney University Flames team that won it in 2010.
Shelley Cronau is a 3.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She was part of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team (Gliders) line up at the Osaka Cup in Japan in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto in June 2014. She was captain of the Minecraft Comets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2014. The Minecraft Comets were named the Queensland Sporting Wheelies Team of the Year for 2014, and Cronau won the award for Sporting Wheelie of the Year. She represented the Gliders at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Joy Haizelden is a 2.5 point British wheelchair basketball player who was the youngest player to represent Great Britain at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto. She also went to Paris to compete at the 2024 Paralympics.
Leah Evans is a 2.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing.
The 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship was held at the Walker Complex at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, from 15 to 21 July 2011. It was the first ever wheelchair basketball world championship for women in the under-25 age category. The event was run by Wheelchair Basketball Canada in partnership with Brock University. Eight nations competed: Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, South Africa and the United States. The event took the form of a round-robin tournament, with each team playing all the other teams once. The top eight teams then went into quarter-finals, while the bottom two played each other for world ranking. The winners of the semi-finals faced each other in the final, while the losers played for bronze. The championship was won by the United States; Australia came second and Great Britain third.
Isabel Martin is a 1.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2016. In May 2019, she was part of the Australian U25 team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai.
Annabelle Lindsay is a 4.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2017. In May 2019, she was part of the U25 National team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
Georgia Munro-Cook is an Australian 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player. She represented Australia at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai.
Natalie Alexander is a 2.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Jessica Cronje is a 4.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2016. In May 2019, she was part of the Australian U25 team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand, and she represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai.
Mary Friday is a 1 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Annabelle Dennis is a 4.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2022 IWBF Asia Oceania Championships in Phuket in May 2022. In June 2023, she represented Australia at the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai. In October 2023 she will captain the Australian Under 25 wheelchair basketball team at the 2023 IWBF U25 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championships being held in Bangkok.