While most kids his age were playing sport or video games, Tristan Knowles spent his pre-teens inside the four walls of a hospital.
A shock bone cancer diagnosis at nine. Left above-knee amputation. Relapse at 12. 22 courses of chemotherapy. Lung lobectomy. Remission.
But the fighting spirit which saw Tristan overcome a measly survival rate – 10 per cent – is the same fighting spirit which he has used to carve out one of the most successful wheelchair basketball careers in recent memory.
Over nearly two decades, Tristan has represented Australia at four Paralympic Games and four World Championships. He has won a medal at all but one of these – gold at the 2008 Paralympic Games, silver in 2004 and 2012. World titles in 2010 and 2014, bronze in 2006 and 2018.
Four years on from one of the most devastating losses of his career, when it all fell …
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While most kids his age were playing sport or video games, Tristan Knowles spent his pre-teens inside the four walls of a hospital.
A shock bone cancer diagnosis at nine. Left above-knee amputation. Relapse at 12. 22 courses of chemotherapy. Lung lobectomy. Remission.
But the fighting spirit which saw Tristan overcome a measly survival rate – 10 per cent – is the same fighting spirit which he has used to carve out one of the most successful wheelchair basketball careers in recent memory.
Over nearly two decades, Tristan has represented Australia at four Paralympic Games and four World Championships. He has won a medal at all but one of these – gold at the 2008 Paralympic Games, silver in 2004 and 2012. World titles in 2010 and 2014, bronze in 2006 and 2018.
Four years on from one of the most devastating losses of his career, when it all fell apart for the Rollers in a 74-51 quarter-finals thrashing at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Tristan is ready and raring for another shot at Paralympic glory this August.
Incredibly, he is balancing a full-time training load with full-time employment as a financial planner.
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