A career in sport was always on the cards for wheelchair rugby player Andrew Edmondson, who had only just accepted a scholarship to play rugby union at an elite private school in Sydney when he broke his neck in a surfing accident at Coogee Beach.
Although it was difficult for Andrew, who was only 13 at the time, to come to terms with being an incomplete quadriplegic, it did not take him long to realise his dream of representing Australia in rugby was still within reach. In 2004 he contacted Paralympics Australia to get involved in wheelchair rugby and over the next 10 years he built a case for himself as a future star of the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers.
Andrew made his international debut at the 2014 New Zealand Nationals in Auckland, New Zealand, and his Paralympic debut two years later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where …
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A career in sport was always on the cards for wheelchair rugby player Andrew Edmondson, who had only just accepted a scholarship to play rugby union at an elite private school in Sydney when he broke his neck in a surfing accident at Coogee Beach.
Although it was difficult for Andrew, who was only 13 at the time, to come to terms with being an incomplete quadriplegic, it did not take him long to realise his dream of representing Australia in rugby was still within reach. In 2004 he contacted Paralympics Australia to get involved in wheelchair rugby and over the next 10 years he built a case for himself as a future star of the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers.
Andrew made his international debut at the 2014 New Zealand Nationals in Auckland, New Zealand, and his Paralympic debut two years later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Steelers became the first team in wheelchair rugby history to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals and a world championship title in a four-year period, defeating the USA, 59-58, in a double-overtime thriller.
The Steelers’ overwhelming odds-on favouritism to defend their world title at the 2018 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Sydney took a hit in 2018, and despite an unbeaten run to the gold medal match, Japan proved too strong for the reigning world champions. Returning from a five-try deficit in the third and fourth quarters, the Steelers made an uncharacteristic and decisive error with 90 seconds to play to bring an end to their six-year reign at major tournaments.
Off the court, Andrew is a diehard Waratahs fan. His hobbies include fitness and travel, and in 2013, he completed a bachelor’s degree in sports business at the Australian College of Physical Education in Sydney.
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