Brett Andrew Stibners, OAM[1] (born 25 June 1979) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship. He was a member of the Rollers team that competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, his fourth Games.[2]

Brett Stibners
Portrait of Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketballer Stibners in 2012
Personal information
Full nameBrett Andrew Stibners
Nationality Australia
Born (1979-06-25) 25 June 1979 (age 45)
Sport
ClubWollongong Roller Hawks
Medal record
Wheelchair basketball
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Men's wheelchair basketball
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Men's wheelchair basketball
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Amsterdam Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Birmingham Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Hamburg Team

Personal

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Stibners was born on 25 June 1979, and is from the Wollongong suburb of Oak Flats.[3] He is a full-time athlete,[3] and is nicknamed Sticky.[3] His left leg was amputated above the knee after a car accident.[3][4] in 2001[5] when the car he was driving collided with a truck.[4][6] Prior to his accident, he worked as an apprentice electrician.[6]

Basketball

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Great Britain vs Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at Gliders & Rollers World Challenge on 21 July 2012. Aussie 6 Brett Stibners and 9 Tristan Knowles. GB no 10 is Abdi Jama

Stibners is classified as a 4.0 player and is a forward.[7] He first started playing wheelchair basketball in 2003.[3] In 2010, he was the recipient of a A$10,000 grant by WorkCover NSW to enable him to worry less about money and prepare for the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[4] He used the money to cover training and travel expenses, and to maintain his wheelchair.[4] He was at a press appearance announcing funding for Paralympic sport in March 2011. At the event, he played wheelchair basketball with then New South Wales Premiere Kristina Keneally.[5]

National team

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Stibners first represented Australia on the national level in 2006.[3]

Paralympics

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Stibners at the 2012 London Paralympics

Stibners was part of the gold medal-winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team[8] at the 2008 Summer Paralympics,[9] for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia.[1] At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he was part of the Australian men's wheelchair team that won silver.[10] In 2016, he was selected for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro[11] where his team, The Rollers, finished sixth.[12]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the Rollers finished fifth with a win–loss record of 4–4.[2][13]

Other competitions

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In 2003, Stibners was a member of the national squad that competed at the Gold Cup in Amsterdam. This was his first international appearance.[3] In 2007, he was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Arafura Games.[7] In 2009, he was part of the national squad that won gold at the Rollers World Challenge and the team that won gold at the Paralympic World Cup held in Manchester, England.[7] He was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team that competed at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship[14][15] that won a gold medal.[16] In 2018, he was a member of the Rollers that won the bronze medal at 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, Germany.

Club basketball

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Stibners started playing club basketball in 2002 for the Wollongong Roller Hawks of Australia's National Wheelchair Basketball League. He is classified as a 4.0 player and plays as a forward.[14] In 2003, he won a league championship with the team.[6] In 2007, he played club basketball in Spain for CD Fundosa Group.[7] In 2010, he was playing club basketball with Wollongong Rollerhawks.[17] As of 2011, he plays his club basketball for the NWBL's Wollongong Roller Hawks. His team beat the Perth Wheelcats in the 2011 NWBL Championship. In the semi-final round, he scored 26 points and had 18 rebounds. In the finals, he had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.[18]

Coaching

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Stibners is an Assistant Coach with the Rollers at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.[19]

Hockey

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Stibners named as a member of the Australian national indoor hockey team[3] prior to his 2001 accident.[5][6]

Recognition

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Shellharbour City gave him a key to the city in 2008.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Stibners, Brett Andrew". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Standards And Culture To Drive Revamped Rollers". Paralympics Australia. 21 July 2021. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Brett Stibners". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d "WorkCover scholarships helping Paralympic athletes fulfil their dreams" (PDF). Work Cover New South Wales. 10 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Premier relives schoolgirl glory days on basketball court". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e Arnold, Alex (19 December 2008). "Talented sportsman given key to Shellharbour". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d "Brett Stibners". Basketball Australia. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  8. ^ McGarry, Andrew (4 September 2008). "Event guide: Wheelchair basketball". ABC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Basketball Chronology". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Men's Wheelchair Basketball Results". London 2012 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Australian Rollers ready for Rio 2016 revenge". Australian Paralympic Committee. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Hosts shock Rollers to end Rio campaign". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Rollers end Tokyo campaign fifth". New South Wales Institute of Sport. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Basketball Australia : 2010 WC Team". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  15. ^ "Newsletter 2010 July 2010". Australian Athletes With a Disability. July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Rollers Int History". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  17. ^ "FOUR NSW TEAM REPRESENTATIVES NAMED IN ROLLERS TEAM TO PLAY ENGLAND" (PDF). New South Wales Basketball. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  18. ^ "Wollongong Roller Hawks claim 2011 NWBL Title". Basketball Australia. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  19. ^ "Fire Burns For Veteran Rollers Picked For Paris 2024 | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
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