Ryley Batt, (born 22 May 1989)
is an Australian
wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
The US na ...
player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five
Paralympic Games.
Biography
![130908 - Ryley Batt avoids Buckingham vs NZ - 3b - crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/130908_-_Ryley_Batt_avoids_Buckingham_vs_NZ_-_3b_-_crop.jpg)
Ryley Douglas Batt was born on 22 May 1989 without legs and had surgery to separate his
webbed fingers.
Up to the age of twelve, he did not use a wheelchair, preferring to move around on a skateboard.
He was convinced to use a wheelchair when he saw a demonstration of wheelchair rugby at his school, and took up the sport shortly afterwards in that year.
He first participated in the
Australian Steelers in 2002.
He was part of the national team at the
2004 Athens Games, where he was the youngest Paralympic rugby player in the world at the age of 15,
the
2008 Beijing Games, where the team won a silver medal, and the
2012 London Games, when the team won a gold medal.
From 2006 to 2010, he was the national team's most valuable player.
He competed in the 2010 World Rugby Wheelchair Championships, where his team won a silver medal,
and he won the most valuable player award. He was a member of the Australian team that won its first world championship gold medal at the 2014
World Wheelchair Rugby Championships
World Wheelchair Rugby Championships is an international wheelchair rugby competition contested by the national teams of the members of World Wheelchair Rugby ( WWR), the sport's global governing body.
The first Wheelchair Rugby World Championsh ...
at
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
.
![AustralianParalympianOfTheYear 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/AustralianParalympianOfTheYear_001.JPG)
He was a member of the team that retained its gold medal at the
2016 Rio Paralympics
)
, nations = 159
, athletes = 4,342
, opening = 7 September
, closing = 18 September
, opened_by = President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva
, events = 528 in 22 sports
, stadium = Maracanã
, su ...
after defeating the United States 59–58 in the final.
At the
2018 IWRF World Championship in Sydney, he was a member of the Australian team that won the silver medal after being defeated by Japan 61–62 in the gold medal game. He was the only Australian named in the 2018 IWRF World Championship All-Tournament Team.
At the
2020 Summer Paralympics, the Steelers finished
fourth after being defeated by Japan 52–60 in the bronze medal game. COVID travel restrictions led to the Steelers not having a team training session since March 2020 prior to Tokyo.
Batt won his second world championship gold medal at the
2022 IWRF World Championship in
Vejle, Denmark. He was named the Most Valuable Player and was also the leading scorer, crossing the line 231 times for Australia.
He lives in the New South Wales city of
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...
, and leads the New South Wales Gladiators and the
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
Sharp Edge in the United States.
Recognition
Batt was a finalist for the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year. 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."
In November 2014, he won three awards at the
New South Wales Institute of Sport
The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training ...
Awards – ClubsNSW Male Athlete of the Year, Office of Communities, Sport and Recreation Regional Athlete of the Year and Quest Serviced Apartments Team Athlete of the Year.
In November 2019, Batt with
Daniela Di Toro
Daniela "Danni" Di Toro (born 16 October 1974) is an Australian wheelchair tennis and table tennis player. Di Toro was the 2010 French Open doubles champion and has also been the Masters double champion. In singles, Di Toro is the former world ...
was named co-captain of the
Australian Team at the
2020 Tokyo Paralympics
The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...
. On 23 August 2021, Batt and Di Toro were announced as the flagbearers for the Australian team for the
Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Batt, Ryley
Australian wheelchair rugby players
Paralympic wheelchair rugby players for Australia
Wheelchair rugby players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair rugby players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair rugby players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair rugby players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby
Amputee category Paralympic competitors
Australian amputees
Sportsmen from New South Wales
People from Port Macquarie
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
1989 births
Living people