Richard Voris

It was not always Richard ‘Dickie’ Voris’ dream to play wheelchair rugby. As a 19-year-old apprentice electrician, Richard was swimming in a mate’s backyard pool. The friend playfully tried to jump over him and into the water, but misjudged the distance, crushing Richard’s neck. He was paralysed immediately.

Richard’s journey to the Paralympic Games has not been an easy one – even by a Para-athlete’s standards. In 2016, while his teammates were defending their Paralympic gold medal from 2012, he contracted an autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis. He lost all function in his body – so much so, he couldn’t open his eyes for eight months – and from then on, was unable to achieve any consistency in his training.

The Paralympic movement has changed Richard’s life – it was through wheelchair rugby that he was able to rediscover his independence, and eventually manage without carers; through wheelchair rugby that he has travelled the world; through wheelchair rugby that he met his girlfriend – teammate Andrew Edmondson‘s wife’s cousin.

Richard fulfilled his decade-long dream when he was selected as part of the 12-player Steelers squad for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the team was only able to train together twice in the eighteen-month leadup to Tokyo, which severely disrupted their preparation for the Games.  The team’s 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.