Shelley Chaplin is one of the stars of the Australian team and was integral to the Gliders’ efforts to win a silver medal at London 2012. Having played extensively both in America and Australia, Shelley has an impressive resume in the sport.

In 2005, Shelley moved from her hometown of Bendigo to the USA to study and play basketball for the University of Illinois. The same year, she made her debut for the national team, at the Roosevelt Cup in the US. In 2010, Shelley was back in Illinois, completing a Bachelor’s degree of Health Sciences in Recreation, Sports and Tourism.

Shelley was one of the youngest members of the Gliders team at the Athens 2004 Games, and she describes winning the silver medal there as the biggest thing she has achieved. Four years later and with a bit more experience, Shelley won a bronze medal after defeating Japan at the Beijing Paralympics. Heading into London, she and the team hoped they would capture the medal that had eluded them and came close but unfortunately lost to Germany in the final.

She began playing basketball when she was 13 years old. Throughout her career, she captained a team at the Junior National Wheelchair Games, won bronze for Australia at the World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in 2002 and most recently played a key role in a number of Australia’s successful Osaka Cup campaigns, where they won gold in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.

With a talent for tying lolly snakes with her tongue and known for always having a smile on her face, Shelley describes herself as vivacious, hardworking and fun. Post-London, Shelley and team mate Leanne Del Toso took up cycling in order to complete a fundraising cycle around Fiji. As part of the training, Shelley competed at the 2013 National Road Cycling Championships where she was named champion for her class in both the time trial and road race, proving her multitude of sporting talents.