 Ryley Batt in 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 22 May 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 3.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hunter Wildfires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Australian Steelers (2003–current) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ryley Batt, OAM (born 22 May 1989) [1] is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold, one silver medal and one bronze medal at six Paralympic Games. [2]
Ryley Douglas Batt was born on 22 May 1989 without legs and had surgery to separate his webbed fingers. [1] [3] 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. [4] 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, [4] the 2008 Beijing Games, where the team won a silver medal, [5] and the 2012 London Games, when the team won a gold medal. [6]
From 2006 to 2010, he was the national team's most valuable player. [4]
He competed in the 2010 World Rugby Wheelchair Championships, where his team won a silver medal, [4] and he won the most valuable player award. [7] 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. [8]
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. [9]
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. [10] He was the only Australian named in the 2018 IWRF World Championship All-Tournament Team. [11]
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. [12]
Batt won his second world championship gold medal at the 2022 IWRF World Championship in Vejle, Denmark. He was named the Most Valuable Player and was also the leading scorer, crossing the line 231 times for Australia. [13]
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics, he was a member of the Steelers that won the bronze medal defeating Great Britain 50–48. [14]
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]
Batt was a finalist for the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year. [15] 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." [3]
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. [16]
In November 2019, Batt with Daniela Di Toro was named co-captain of the Australian Team at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. [17] On 23 August 2021, Batt and Di Toro were announced as the flagbearers for the Australian team for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony. [18]
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.
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.
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 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.
Lisa Daniela "Danni" Di Toro is an Australian wheelchair tennis and para table tennis player. Di Toro was the 2010 French Open doubles champion and has also been the Masters double champion. In singles, Di Toro is the former world number one and two time masters finalist. In 2015, she moved to para-table tennis and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where she was team captain with Kurt Fearnley. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her seventh Paralympics, she was the team captain and Opening Ceremony flag bearer with Ryley Batt. She has been selected to compete at her eight Paralympics in Paris.
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.
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.
Michael "Mick" Ozanne is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Australia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. Australia repeated its 2012 Summer Paralympics achievement in finishing fifth of the medal tally.
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.
Australia participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. It sent its largest away team - 179 athletes to a Summer Paralympics. Australia finished eighth on the gold medal table and sixth on the total medals table.
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.
Australia are competing at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024.
