 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 7 April 1998 |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball |
| Disability class | 1.0 |
| Event | Women's team |
| Club | Red Dust Lady Heelers |
Taishar Ovens (born 7 April 1998) is a 1.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. [1]
Taishar Ovens was born with scoliosis. [2] In 2008, she had corrective surgery but had a spinal stroke which left her paralysed. [2] She has several qualifications - Certificate III and IV in Fitness and Certificate III in Events. [2] She has worked as a CrossFit coach. [2] In April 2021, she took up a traineeship position at VisAbility's CoAct Disability Employment Services in Perth. [2]
A 1.0 point player. She was a member of the Australian teams that won the silver medal at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the Gliders finished ninth after winning the 9th-10th classification match. [3]
Shelley Matheson is an Australian 3.5-point player 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, a win she dedicated to her lifelong friend Shannon.
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.
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.
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.
Amanda Carter is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. Diagnosed with transverse myelitis at the age of 24, she began playing wheelchair basketball in 1991 and participated in the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders, at three Paralympics from 1992 to 2000. An injury in 2000 forced her to withdraw from the sport, but she came back to the national team in 2009, and was a member of the team that represented Australia and won silver at the 2012 London Paralympics.
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.
Leanne Del Toso is a 3.5 point wheelchair basketball player who represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal. Diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy at the age of nineteen, Del Toso started playing wheelchair basketball in 2006. Playing in the local Victorian competition, she was named the league's most valuable player in 2007. That year started playing for the Knox Ford Raiders in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). The following year, she was named the team's Players' Player and Most Valuable Player (MVP).
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.
The Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, played in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. The team of twelve included nine Paralympic veterans with fifteen Paralympic Games between them: Bridie Kean, Amanda Carter, Sarah Stewart, Tina McKenzie, Kylie Gauci, Katie Hill, Cobi Crispin, Clare Nott and Shelley Chaplin. There were three newcomers playing in their first Paralympics: Amber Merritt, Sarah Vinci and Leanne Del Toso. Carter returned to the Gliders' lineup after being sidelined by a crippling elbow injury at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. The Gliders had won silver in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, but had never won gold.
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.
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.
Bree Mellberg is an Australian diver and 3 point wheelchair basketball player. A national junior champion, she represented Australia at the FINA world junior diving championships in September 2008. After switching to wheelchair basketball, she made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2017. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
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.
Ella Sabljak 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.
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.
