Ryley Batt was first introduced to wheelchair rugby as a 12-year-old at a demonstration event at his school. Although he had used a skateboard up until then to get around, it did not take him long to adapt to using a wheelchair, and three years later he made his Paralympic debut at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. At 15, Ryley was the youngest ever wheelchair rugby player to compete at a Paralympic Games.
Four years later, he reached the Paralympic podium for the first time, and in 2012, he led the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, to their first Paralympic gold medal. In the gold medal match alone, Ryley scored 37 goals against Canada and cemented his status as one of the world’s best wheelchair rugby players.
After winning his first world title at the 2014 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Odense, Denmark, Ryley made history as a …
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Ryley Batt was first introduced to wheelchair rugby as a 12-year-old at a demonstration event at his school. Although he had used a skateboard up until then to get around, it did not take him long to adapt to using a wheelchair, and three years later he made his Paralympic debut at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. At 15, Ryley was the youngest ever wheelchair rugby player to compete at a Paralympic Games.
Four years later, he reached the Paralympic podium for the first time, and in 2012, he led the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, to their first Paralympic gold medal. In the gold medal match alone, Ryley scored 37 goals against Canada and cemented his status as one of the world’s best wheelchair rugby players.
After winning his first world title at the 2014 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Odense, Denmark, Ryley made history as a member of the first team in wheelchair rugby history 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 for the Steelers. Returning from a five-try deficit in the third and fourth quarters, the Australians made an uncharacteristic and decisive error with 90 seconds to play to bring an end to their six-year reign at major tournaments.
Having recently taken over the role of captain from stalwart Ryan Scott, Ryley had a hard time coming to terms with the loss. But he is now looking forward to returning the favour to Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games – on their home turf.
In his spare time, Ryley enjoys riding dirt bikes and jet skis.
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