International wheelchair rugby star Chris Bond was 19-years-old when he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. He survived, but a bacterial infection took his left hand, right fingers and legs below the knee.
It did not take Chris long to get involved in Para-sport, and at the suggestion of Brad Dubberley, a two-time Paralympian and the head coach of the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, he began competing in wheelchair rugby.
In 2011, Chris made his international debut at the Great Britain Cup in Cardiff, Wales. Setting the tone for the next seven years of his career, the Steelers achieved a six-game clean sweep over Great Britain, Japan, Belgium and Sweden to win gold.
After helping lead the Steelers to their first Paralympic gold medal in 2012, Chris returned to the top of the podium in 2014. Proving, once again, he was one of the best wheelchair …
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International wheelchair rugby star Chris Bond was 19-years-old when he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. He survived, but a bacterial infection took his left hand, right fingers and legs below the knee.
It did not take Chris long to get involved in Para-sport, and at the suggestion of Brad Dubberley, a two-time Paralympian and the head coach of the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, he began competing in wheelchair rugby.
In 2011, Chris made his international debut at the Great Britain Cup in Cardiff, Wales. Setting the tone for the next seven years of his career, the Steelers achieved a six-game clean sweep over Great Britain, Japan, Belgium and Sweden to win gold.
After helping lead the Steelers to their first Paralympic gold medal in 2012, Chris returned to the top of the podium in 2014. Proving, once again, he was one of the best wheelchair rugby players in the world, he and teammate Ryley Batt together scored 64 of the Steelers’ 67 goals in the gold medal match at the 2014 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Odense, Denmark.
Following these stunning victories, Chris made history once again when the Steelers became the first wheelchair rugby team 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 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
After winning minor medals at the 2018 Canada Cup in Vancouver and 2018 Quad Nations tournament in Leicester, England, the Steelers’ overwhelming odds-on favouritism to defend their world title at the 2018 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Sydney took a major hit.
Despite their unbeaten run to the gold medal match and a home-court advantage, the Japanese wheelchair rugby team proved too strong. 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.
Chris is now more determined than ever to defend his gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, but when he does take a moment’s breather from training and competition, he enjoys fishing, camping and ocean swimming.
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