Bill
Latham

After coming within a whisker of selection for the 2008 Australian Paralympic Team, wheelchair basketballer Bill Latham was over the moon to qualify for London 2012.

Bill contributed a sizeable 27 points in London, where the team enjoyed an unbeaten run to the final to finish second behind long-time adversary Canada.

In the four years between Beijing and London, Bill was also a part of the team to win gold at the 2010 IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Birmingham, England, where the Rollers beat France 79-69 in a thrilling finals showdown that rates among the highlights of his career.

Shockingly, at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games they were eliminated from gold medal contention in a 23-point loss to Great Britain in the quarter finals.

At Tokyo 2020, The Rollers improved on their sixth-place finish at Rio 2016, beating Turkey in their final match to secure fifth place.

Bill became an amputee when he was run over by a tractor and a slasher on his family’s property near Coffs Harbour.

Suffering a fractured skull and damage to both his legs, he spent four months in an intensive care ward in Sydney, undergoing countless operations and using crutches to move around.

Eight years later he made the decision to have his left leg amputated through the knee.

A natural athlete, Bill has enjoyed success in swimming and lawn bowls, and broken Australian age records in discus, shot put and javelin.

With such wide-ranging ability, it is unsurprising his great grandfather was Tedda Courtney, a rugby league pioneer and the Canterbury Bulldogs’ first ever coach.