Despite only being 24, Ryley Batt has already competed in three Paralympic Games for the Australian wheelchair rugby team.
Batt was born with a limb deficiency and does not have legs but the amazing thing about his story was the fact that it wasn’t until he was 12 years old that he began to use a wheelchair. It was a wheelchair rugby demonstration being performed at his school that finally convinced him, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Batt played in competition for the first time in 2002, and the following year he was selected to represent Australia in a tournament in Japan.
In 2004, Batt made history, becoming the youngest ever wheelchair rugby Paralympian at just 15 years of age. His original classification was a mid-point of 2.5 but it overturned and became a high-point 3.5. This reclassification increased his responsibility within the team, as he makes up almost half of the maximum eight points allowed on the court at any one time.
Batt has taken his game to a new level and was a huge reason why Australia won the gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympics, scoring 37 goals in the final against Canada and a massive 160 for the tournament.
His trophy cabinet has overflowed with individual achievements. A stellar 2010 saw Batt win the tournament MVP at the IWRF World Championships where Australia placed second. He then followed it up in the next two international events won by Australia – the 2010 Four Nations Championship and the 2010 Canada Cup – winning MVP honours in both.
2013 has not been the most successful year for the Australian team, as they lost their No. 1 ranking to the USA after being defeated by them in the final of the Denmark Wheelchair Rugby Challenge in June. However, Batt and the team will be working hard to get back to the top of the world and win the 2014 IWRF World Championships in Odense, Denmark.
Off the court, Batt is a massive motorsport fan who loves to ride quad bikes and motor bikes in his spare time. If can maintain his current level over the next three years there is no doubt he can help the Australian team to defend its gold medal at Rio 2016.
