Carrara-based athlete Matt McShane was 18 when he acquired transverse myelitis, a neurological condition causing the spinal cord to inflame. The automotive apprentice spent the next nine months in hospital and rehabilitation recovering and adjusting to life in a wheelchair.

A sports-mad teenager, Matt was eager to return to sport at a recreational level when he discovered wheelchair basketball. In awe of its fast pace, just two months after being discharged from hospital he played his first game at a local competition on the Gold Coast. Not long after he joined the Brisbane Spinning Bullets in the National Wheelchair Basketball League and began working towards selection for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Ranking among the greatest emerging 1.5-classified players in the world right now, Matt helped lead the Rollers to a podium finish in their tour of Great Britain for the 2016 Continental Clash. His impact was especially felt against …

Read More
Date of birth
1 November 1990
Sport
Wheelchair basketball
Past Paralympic Games

Rio 2016

Impairment
Physical Impairment – Paraplegia
How acquired
Transverse myelitis
Residence
Carrara, QLD
Occupation
Student
Started competing
2010
First competed for Australia
2014
Sport career highlights

Making his international debut in 2014

Greatest sporting moments

Qualifying for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Heroes/role models

Adrian King

Disciplines

  • Sport: Wheelchair basketball Classification: 1.5

Social Media