 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Lees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National team | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 March 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. [1] [2]
Lees life changed in June 2000. Lees a mechanic at the time was on a motocross circuit in Laverton, Victoria when his bike ran off the track and the resultant accident led to him breaking his neck. [3] He is paralysed from the chest down but has recovered some mobility, improving to a point where he can 'stand a bit and use my arms a bit.' [3] His partner is Melanie Josephs and they have two girls. [4] He who works part-time for Disability Sport and Recreation,
In 2002, Lees started playing wheelchair rugby on the social, non-competitive level.
In 2009, he made his debut for the Victoria state team and the Australian Steelers. He competed in the 2010 World Rugby Wheelchair Championships, where his team captured a silver medal. [5]
Lees was a member of the Steelers that won the gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics. 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. [6]
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. [7]
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. [8]
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. [9]
Lees 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." [10]
Lees announced his retirement from the Steelers in November 2021 and moving to a Development Coach with Paralympics Australia. [11]
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
Australia national wheelchair rugby team represents Australia in international wheelchair rugby, is 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.
Ryley Batt, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold, one silver medal and one bronze medal at six Paralympic Games.
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 was 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.
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.
Andrew Harrison, 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.
Christopher Adam Bond is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris 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 and a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris 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.
Jason Ellery is an Australian wheelchair rugby player.
Michael "Mick" Ozanne is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Peter Genyn is a Paralympian sportsman from Belgium. Initially Genyn competed as a wheelchair rugby player before switching to track and field athletics in 2014 where he competes in category T51 sprint events. In 2016 he became the world record holder in the T51 men's 400 metres sprint.
Matt Franklin Lewis is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a member of the Australian Steelers.
Andrew John Edmondson is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
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 six Summer Paralympics, winning the gold medal at the 2024 Games in Paris.
Josh Nicholson is an Australian wheelchair rugby player and was a member of the Steelers that won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Jake Howe is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has represented the Steelers at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where they won the bronze medal.
