Jamieson Leeson (born 18 March 2003) is an Australian

boccia Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes w ...

player. She represented Australia at the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, 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 Inte ...

. She won a gold and silver medal at the 2022 World Championships.

Early life

She was born on 18 March 2003 with

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

. She uses a wheelchair and her mother, Amanda, is her primary carer. The rugby league's

Men of League Foundation The Men of League Foundation is an Australian rugby league charity founded on 11 July 2002 by retired rugby league players Max Brown, Ron Coote and Jim Hall. The purpose of the foundation is to provide funding and assistance to men, women and chi ...

provided her family with a customised van with specialist wheelchair lift to help her daily transport. She grew up in

Dunedoo, New South Wales Dunedoo ( ) is a village of 1,021 inhabitants situated within the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. Dunedoo is well known to Australian travellers due to its distinctive name (''Dunny'' is a colloquial Australian ...

and attended Dunedoo Central School. In 2024, she is studying a Bachelor of Economics full-time at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Boccia

She began playing in 2018 where she was scouted in a school's knock out competition in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...

and trains in Sydney under Australia's Boccia Head Coach Ken Halliday. In March 2019, Jamieson competed in her first ever boccia competition, winning gold in pairs. She has won silver medals in the singles and pairs at the 2019 Boccia Australia National Titles. In May 2019, she won a bronze medal in the pairs at the Hong Kong World Open. In July, she competed in both the pairs and individual events at the Seoul Asia-Oceania Regional Championships, winning her first ever international individual game against a Paralympic gold medalist. At just 16, Jamieson has been the youngest person ever to represent Australia in boccia. In 2021, she received a Tier 3 Scholarship within the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

Scholarship & Mentoring Program. At the

, she teamed with Daniel Michel and Spencer Cotie in the Mixed Pairs BC3, where they won 2 and lost 2 matches but failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Leeson won the silver medal in the Women's BC3 and the gold medal in the Mixed Pairs BC3 at the 2022 World Championships in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. She lost 2–6 to Anna Costa in the final of the Women's BC3. She competed at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

in Paris with her ramp assistant Jasmine Haydon. She won silver in the Women's Individual Bc3, Australia's best ever performance in boccia. Leeson and Daniel Michel lost in the Mixed pairs BC3 quarter-finals. Boccia at the 2024 Summer Paralympics - September 7

Boccia at the 2024 Summer Paralympics - September 7

Recognition

In 2023, Leeson with Daniel Michel was awarded the Sport NSW Team of the Year with a Disability and Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards Team of the Year.

References

External links

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Boccia Australia Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeson, Jamieson 2003 births Living people Boccia players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Boccia players at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in boccia Paralympic boccia players for Australia People with spinal muscular atrophy Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian sportswomen