Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Gerard Benjamin Hewson | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 5 June 1958 Young, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gerard "Gerry" Benjamin Hewson, OAM [1] (born 5 June 1958) [2] is an Australian former Paralympic wheelchair basketballer. He has coached wheelchair basketball on the national and international level in Australia. Gerry is now studying horticulture at TAFE and is the producer of Gerard Benjamin honey from Cedar Brush Creek.
Hewson was born on 5 June 1958 in the New South Wales town of Young. [2]
In 2007 a nude picture of Hewson and his pregnant wife was displayed at the Museum of Sex in New York City as part of an exhibit called "Intimate Encounters", that focused on the sex lives of disabled athletes. The photograph was published by Time Out New York in its section "This week in New York". [3] [4]
Hewson was a member of the Australian men's national wheelchair basketball team, competing at four Paralympic Games from 1988 to 2000. [2] [5] He won a gold medal as a member of the team at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, [5] for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. [1]
Hewson competed in the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) in 2001. That year, he was named as the Low Point MVP for the league. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, He was also named as part of the league's All Star Five. [6]
sparks flying and occasionally you get wheels crash together and they will light up. There is a coating on the edge of the rim that actually lights up like a spark and it stays for about two, three seconds so that kind of splashes around the place every now and then so that is quite exciting and lots of smashing and banging of chairs and people falling out – it is great fun.
Gerry Hewson discussing the appeal of wheelchair basketball [7]
Hewson was the head coach for the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) Sydney Uni Wheelkings in 2011. [8] He was coach of the NWBL's West Sydney Razorbacks from 2004 to 2006. During that time, he helped guide the team to championships during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. [9] In 2006, Hewson was the head coach when the team competed at the Joseph F. Lyttle World Basketball Challenge and the 2006 Gold Cup. When he selected the athletes to make up the 2006 Australian side, he chose seven players who were under the age of twenty-five. [10]
In 2002, Hewson was named assistant coach of the Australian women's national wheelchair team, known as the Gliders. It finished third at the 2002 Gold Cup. In 2003, he was named the team's head coach. He coached the team when they won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, [2] and to the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. [11] [12] In 2011, he also served as the coach of the women's U25 national wheelchair basketball team in the U25 Women's World Championship of Basketball in St. Catharines, Canada. [13] [14] [15] The team won silver at the tournament. [16]
Hewson has inspired several Paralympians, including Kylie Gauci. [17] Melanie Domaschenz considers Hewson to be one of the most important figures in her sporting career in terms of helping her to accomplish her sport related goals. [18]
In 2000, Hewson received an Australian Sports Medal. [19] In 2008, the National Wheelchair Basketball League recognised his efforts at promoting the league and the sport of wheelchair basketball by naming him a life member alongside Michael Callahan and Errol Hyde. [9] In 2019, he was inducted into the New South Wales Basketball Hall of Fame. [20]
Bradley John Ness, OAM is an Australian wheelchair basketballer. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing and silver medals at 2004 Athens and 2012 London Paralympics. He was selected as the Australian flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. In December 2023, Ness was appointed the Head Coach of the Rollers - Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team.
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.
Kylie Gauci is an Australian Paralympic 2-point wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal. Gauci represented Australia at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Championships, and was named to the World All Star 5 at the World Championships in Amsterdam in 2006. She has played over 180 international games.
Clare Nott is an Australian 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who plays 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.
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Sarah Stewart is a 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal; and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal.
Brendan John Dowler, OAM is an Australian Paralympian, and coaches wheelchair basketball.
Justin Cain Eveson, OAM is an Australian swimmer and wheelchair basketball player who has won Paralympic medals in both sports.
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Adrian John King, OAM is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. He was part of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, and 2008 Beijing Paralympics. He won a silver medal as part of the 2004 team and a gold medal as part of the 2008 team, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. He is currently living in Queensland.
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David Ian Gould, is an Australian wheelchair basketball player and coach.
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.
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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 Bishop-Cash is a swimmer and 4.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian U25 team at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, winning silver. She was part of the Minecraft Comets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2014 and 2018, and were named the Queensland Sporting Wheelies Team of the Year for 2014. In May 2019, she was part of the Devils team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
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