Jason Lees

Few can accuse Paralympic wheelchair rugby player Jason ‘Banger’ Lees of taking a back seat to life. Renowned for his on-court intimidation of some of the world’s most fearless athletes, he is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, off-road hand-cyclist and heavy metal fan.

In fact, it was a motocross accident at 23 which introduced Jason to wheelchair rugby, with the Australian Steelers enjoying unprecedented success off the back of his international debut at the 2009 International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) Asia Oceania Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Between 2012 and 2016, Jason was a part of three history-making line-ups. In 2012, he won Australia’s first Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair rugby, and followed it with their first world title at the 2014 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Odense, Denmark. The Steelers then became the first team in wheelchair rugby history to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals and a world title in a four-year period, defeating their perennial rivals, the USA, in a double-overtime thriller at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

However, all good things must come to an end, and in 2018, it was the Steelers’ six-year reign at major tournaments. Despite an unbeaten run to the World Championships gold medal match and a home-court advantage, they made an uncharacteristic and decisive error with 90 seconds to play to fall to Japan 62-61.

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the Steelers’ nine-year reign as Paralympic champions came to an end when the team finished fourth after being defeated by Japan 52–60 in the bronze medal game. It was the first time in 17 years that the team didn’t win a medal.

Jason says that becoming a Paralympian has gifted him two incredible opportunities to travel overseas, but more importantly, introduced him to his wife and the mother of his children, Melanie.