Matthew "Matt" Byrne (born 8 October 1974) is a British wheelchair basketball player. He participated at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

in Athens where he finished in third position. At the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing, Byrne finished in bronze medal position with Great Britain. He played for United Kingdom 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Personal life

Byrne was born in 1974 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. He is a

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

, meaning that he has an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. He was introduced into wheelchair basketball during his rehabilitation at a hospital following a motorcross accident at the age of fifteen he is also married to Anna Byrne that is a teacher at

The Long Eaton School The Long Eaton School is a secondary Academy on ''Thoresby Road'' in Long Eaton located between Nottingham and Derby. History The £14,900 school opened on 29 October 1910 as the Long Eaton Higher Elementary School and Pupil Teachers' Centr ...

Wheelchair basketball

Byrne first played wheelchair basketball in 1991, and joined the Sheffield Steelers club for five years before moving to the Nottingham Jaguars, near where he was born. His current club, the Wolverhampton Rhinos (RGK TCAT Rhinos), have won the Super League many times during his time there. He made his début for the Great Britain national team in 2001. Byrne participated in the 2001/2002 European Championships in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, his first time competing at a major international event. He and the United Kingdom national team finished in fourth position, out of medal contention. In 2002, he won a silver medal at the 2002 World Championships in Kitakyushu, a city on the third-largest island of Japan. He finished third and won a bronze medal at the

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

2003 European Championships. Byrne competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece; he and the United Kingdom national team won the bronze medal. Following his first Paralympics, Byrne and his team won a silver medal at the 2005 European Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and took fifth place at the world championships in Amsterdam the following year. The U.K. team won the silver medal at the European Championships in

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

, Netherlands in 2007. Byrne and the U.K. team proceeded to win bronze at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. The following year, he also won bronze at the European Championships in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

, Turkey. In 2011, he and his team won gold at the European Championships in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, northern Israel. Byrne was a member of the U.K.'s wheelchair basketball national team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, held in London. The team finished in fourth place after losing to Canada and the United States. In 2012, Byrne was made co-captain of the Great Britain Men's Wheelchair Basketball team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Matt 1974 births Living people British men's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Wheelchair basketball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Great Britain Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball