Dylan
Alcott

At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, wheelchair basketball-turned-wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott realised his dream of winning a second Paralympic gold medal in a second sport when he and quad doubles partner Heath Davidson defeated reigning champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner (USA) 6-4, 4-6, 5-7 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The following day, he won a second gold medal, beating current world No. 2 Andy Lapthorne (GBR) in straight sets to claim the quad singles crown.

At just 31, Dylan is already a seasoned veteran. He won a gold medal with the Australian wheelchair basketball team, the Rollers, at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and a silver medal in 2012. But with a sixth consecutive Australian Open title now under his belt, the 2016 Australian Paralympian of the Year’s career – both on and off the court – has skyrocketed.

In 2016, Dylan became the first Para-athlete to be awarded Tennis Australia’s prestigious Newcombe Medal. He launched Get Skilled Access in 2016, the Dylan Alcott Foundation in 2017, and Ability Fest in 2018. In 2019, he became the first Paralympian to score a Silver Logie – for Most Popular New Talent on ABC’s The Set.

You would be forgiven for thinking that with Dylan’s side hussles taking off as they have, his sport has suffered. But this is Dylan Alcott we are talking about. Not only has he maintained a world No. 1 ranking, but last June and July, he became the first quad singles player to win the French Open and Wimbledon.

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Dylan secured his place in the history books when he won the quad wheelchair singles to win his fourth Paralympic gold medal. In the final, he defeated world no. 2 Sam Schroder 7-6(2) 6-1 to successfully defend his Rio 2016 title.

In the quad doubles, he played alongside Heath Davidson to claim the silver medal when the Australian pair lost to Sam Schroder and Niels Vink of the Netherlands 6-4,6-3.