| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby |
| Established | 1995 |
| Administrator | WWR |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Current champion |  Australia (2nd title) |
| Most titles |  United States (4 titles) |
World Wheelchair Rugby Championships is an international wheelchair rugby competition contested by the national teams of the members of World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR), the sport's global governing body.
The first Wheelchair Rugby World Championships was held in Notwil, Switzerland in 1995. [1]
[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
| Year | Host (final location) | Gold medal game | Bronze medal game | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Score | Silver | Bronze | Score | Fourth place | ||||
| 1995 |  Switzerland (Nottwil) |  United States | 41–36 |  Canada |  New Zealand | 41–28 |  Great Britain | ||
| 1998 |  Canada (Toronto) | United States | 31–28 | New Zealand | Canada | 44–35 |  Sweden | ||
| 2002 |  Sweden (Gothenburg) | Canada | 25–24 | United States |  Australia | 45–38 |  Belgium | ||
| 2006 |  New Zealand (Christchurch) | United States | 34–30 | New Zealand | Canada | 23–19 | Great Britain | ||
| 2010 | Canada (Vancouver) | United States | 57–45 | Australia |  Japan | 53–47 | Sweden | ||
| 2014 |  Denmark (Odense) | Australia | 67–56 | Canada | United States | 62–56 | Japan | ||
| 2018 | Australia (Sydney) | Japan | 62–61 | Australia | United States | 47–36 | Great Britain | ||
| 2022 | Denmark (Vejle) | Australia | 58–55 | United States | Japan | 61–57 |  Denmark | ||
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | Australia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Canada | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 |  Japan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
| Team | 1995 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | – | – | – | – | 12th | – | – | – | 1 |
| Australia | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 8 |
 Austria | – | 11th | 12th | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
 Belgium | – | 8th | 4th | 8th | 7th | 12th | – | – | 5 |
 Brazil | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11th | 1 |
| Canada | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 6th | 5th | 8 |
 Colombia | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10th | 9th | 2 |
| Denmark | – | – | – | 12th | – | 6th | 7th | 4th | 4 |
 Finland | – | 12th | – | – | 11th | 10th | – | – | 3 |
 France | – | – | – | – | – | 9th | 5th | 6th | 3 |
 Germany | – | 6th | 9th | 7th | 10th | 11th | – | 10th | 6 |
 Great Britain | 4th | 7th | 5th | 4th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 7th | 8 |
 Ireland | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12th | – | 1 |
| Japan | – | – | 8th | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 6 |
 Netherlands | 7th | 9th | 10th | 10th | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| New Zealand | 3rd | 2nd | 6th | 2nd | 9th | 8th | 11th | 8th | 8 |
 Poland | – | – | – | – | 8th | – | 9th | – | 2 |
| Sweden | 6th | 4th | 7th | 9th | 4th | 7th | 8th | – | 7 |
| Switzerland | 8th | 10th | 11th | 11th | – | – | – | 12th | 5 |
| United States | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 8 |
| Number of teams | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 20 |
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) is the international governing body for the sport of wheelchair rugby.
The United States national wheelchair rugby team represents the United States in international wheelchair rugby. The USA is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all four Paralympic tournaments it has entered, coming away with two golds.
Garett Hickling is a Canadian wheelchair rugby player. He is on the Canada national wheelchair rugby team and has been voted most valuable player at several World Championships (1995-1998-2002). He has a Gold medal from the 2002 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, a silver medal from the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, and a bronze medal from 2008 in Beijing. He was the Canadian flag-bearer at the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympics. He has competed in every Paralympics that included his sport, representing Canada five times.
The IWRF Asia-Oceania Championship or IWRF Asia-Oceania Zone Championship is the Asian-Oceanian wheelchair rugby championships that take place every two years between national teams of the continents. The Asia-Oceania Championship is also a qualifying tournament for the IWRF World Championships and the Paralympic Games.
The Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA) (French: Association canadienne des sports en fauteuil roulant (ACSFR)) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for wheelchair rugby in Canada. The organization represents Canada in the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF), Own the Podium, and the national wheelchair rugby team in the Canadian Paralympic Committee. The CWSA's president is Dr. Donald Royer of Sherbrooke, Quebec.
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.
Ryley Batt, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five 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 as 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.
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 competed at the 2020 Summer 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 as a member of the Australian Steelers and also went to the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Michael "Mick" Ozanne is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He represented the Steelers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Wheelchair rugby at the 2016 Summer Paralympics was held in the Carioca Arena 1, also known as the Arena Carioca, from 14 September to 18 September 2016. There was a single event, for which both genders are eligible, where 8 teams compete.
Andrew John Edmondson is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a member of the Australian Steelers. He has been selected for 2020 Summer Paralympics, his second Games.
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 four Summer Paralympics, with their best finish being 4th in the 2012 Games in London.
Josh Nicholson is an Australian wheelchair rugby player.
Duncan Campbell, sometimes known as "the Quadfather", is a Canadian co-inventor of murderball. In the 1970s, Campbell invented the sport with four other Canadians before the sport was renamed to wheelchair rugby. In the sport, Campbell coached the Canadian team that went to the 2000 Summer Paralympics and organized the 2010 IWRF World Championship. Apart from wheelchair rugby, Campbell became a recreational therapist for the G. F. Strong Centre in 1986. His honours include an induction into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2005 and receiving the Paralympic Order in 2013.
International wheelchair rugby | ||
|---|---|---|
| Americas |  | |
| Asia-Oceania | ||
| Europe | ||