Ben Newton, (born 14 February 1988) is a wheelchair rugby player. He was selected to represent Australia at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in wheelchair rugby.

Personal life

Benaiah Thomas Newton was born on 14 February 1988 in Sydney, New South Wales. When he was two and a half years old, he was in a car accident that left him an incomplete quadriplegic. He attended Tyalla Public School and Orara High School, and in 2010 graduated from

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

with a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours (1st class). During that year, he moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. He was working towards earning a Certificate III and IV in Fitness in 2012, after already having become a qualified psychologist. , he was also working as a DDA Community Engagement Officer for

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

Wheelchair rugby

100912 - Ben Newton - 3b - 2012 Summer Paralympics

Newton is a 2.5/3.0-point wheelchair rugby player. Newton started playing wheelchair rugby in 2004 while he was living in Coffs Harbour after having spent time watching the state representative team compete. Following the 2010 Queensland Wheelchair Rugby State Championships, he was named the competitions most valuable player. In 2010, he was a member of Gold Coast Wheelchair Rugby Titans in the National Wheelchair Rugby League. That season, he was named to the league's All Star Four. He captained the Titans in the 2012 season. He again captained the Suncorp QLD Cyclones in 2013, leading them to their second consecutive Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association's "Team of the Year" honour. Newton was first named to the national team in 2010, and made his debut in 2011. As a member of that 2011 team, he played in the GB Cup and Asia Oceania Wheelchair Rugby Championships where his team went undefeated. His team made the finals and qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics after defeating the Korea national wheelchair rugby team 63–37. In May 2012, he participated in a test series against Japan in Sydney. He participated in a London Test event, where his team defeated the

Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team The Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team represents Great Britain in international wheelchair rugby. Great Britain is the most successful team in European competition, winning six gold medals at the European Championship and a gold at t ...

in the finals after having lost to Great Britain in a pool play earlier in the day. He was selected to represent Australia at the

in wheelchair rugby. Going into London, his team is ranked second in the world behind the United States. He was part of the team that won the gold medal. The Australian team went through the five-day tournament undefeated. He was awarded an

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 2014

Australia Day Honours The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

"for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Ben Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Australia Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia 1988 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Southern Cross University alumni Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby