Matt
McShane

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 the Netherlands when he and Paralympic teammate Joshua Allison opened up the lanes at the offensive end and fed their front court.

Unfortunately, making his Paralympic debut in Rio, Matt and the Rollers were eliminated from gold medal contention in a 23-point loss to Great Britain in the quarter finals.

He is currently studying a Bachelor of Industrial Design at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus, and in his spare time he enjoys watching his teams the Boston Celtics and Gold Coast Suns compete in the NBA and AFL, respectively.