Robert Lindon McIntyre (1952/1953 – 23 December 1995) nicknamed "Macca", was an Australian Paralympic athlete,

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

player and coach.

Biography

McIntyre was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and was injured in a shooting accident when he was nine years old. His wheelchair basketball career began in 1968 when he represented Victoria at the National Wheelchair Games, where he was voted "best and fairest". He was then selected for the 1968 Tel Aviv Paralympics, where he won a gold medal in the Men's Slalom B event and participated in the

Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers. Australia took the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Paralymp ...

; he would go on to win medals at athletics events at every Paralympics until 1984, and participate in Australia's wheelchair basketball squad at every games until 1980. At the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics, he won a bronze medal in the Men's Slalom 5 event, but did not win any medals at the 1976 Toronto Games. He also represented Australia at the 1970 Edinburgh and 1974 Dunedin Commonwealth Paraplegic Games. In 1977, he moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, and began coaching and playing in the bottom-of-the-ladder Queensland wheelchair basketball team, the Brisbane Breakers. They lost the grand final match of the National Basketball Championships in 1978 by one point, and had back-to-back wins in 1980 and 1981. At the 1980 Arnhem Games, he won a bronze medal in the Men's Slalom 5 event, and coached the national wheelchair basketball team. At the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Games, he won a silver medal in the Men's 800 m 5 event and two bronze medals in the Men's 1,500 m 5 and Men's 5,000 m 5 events. He also participated in the marathon at the 1984 games; he was part of a bloc of Australian, Canadian, American and new Zealand athletes. The person in front of him, New Zealand's

Graham Condon Graham Thomas Condon (11 February 1949 – 8 September 2007) was a disabled athlete who won seven medals for New Zealand competing in Paralympic swimming and athletic events and a total of 36 medals in international competition overall. He was ...

, hit a pothole near the mark, causing McIntyre to lose his balance and turn upside down in his wheelchair. Condon helped him get back into position, and he ended up finishing equal fourth. During his athletic career, he broke several national records, and held the world record for the 800 m event. McIntyre was part of the first two Australian teams for the

Wheelchair Basketball World Championship The IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championship is an international wheelchair basketball competition contested by the men's and the women's national teams of the members of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation ( IWBF), the sport' ...

s in 1983 and 1986. He was involved in wheelchair basketball at a national level until his retirement after the 1993 National Basketball Games on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. In 1995 he was inducted into the Australian Wheelchair Association's Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame. He died suddenly on 23 December 1995 at the age of 42. He was survived by his wife, Lee.

References