Australia and USA end decade-long wait for wheelchair basketball world titles
Ottawa 2026 crowns men's and women's world champions with two years to go until the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games 22 Sep 2026
They say good things come to those who wait — and nowhere was this more true than in Ottawa, Canada, as Australia's men and USA's women ended their respective wheelchair basketball world title droughts on Saturday (19 September). Australia defeated Italy 81-57 in the gold medal match to become the nation's first world championship-winning team since 2014, while USA snatched gold from hosts Canada in a 77-76 thriller — their first world title since 2010.
Australia end with perfect record
Australia won the men's title thanks to five straight victories in Ottawa, and Worlds debutant Jaylen Brown shone with 28 points in the final.
Captain Tom O'Neill-Thorne, who contributed 20 points, 16 assists, and seven rebounds in the final, was overcome with emotion.
“I’m lost for words,” he told the IWBF post-match.
“I don’t really know how to act right now. It hasn’t really sunk in. I think I need to take a breath.”
He praised the Italian team as “world class”.
“They’ve had a great tournament; they’re just so disciplined,” he said.
“We knew that if we stretched the game out and put as much pressure on them, that they might struggle a little bit more over 40 minutes.”
The triumph in Ottawa is Australia's third world title, adding to wins in 2010 and 2014.
They are also two-time Paralympic champions, having won gold at Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008.
For Italy, the silver medal is their best result at a World Championships, having reached the final for the first time.
Federico Carossino was their top scorer with 16 points, while Giovanni Papi netted 13.
Team USA triumph in thriller
In the women’s competition, Team USA will head to their home Paralympic Games at Los Angeles 2028 as the reigning world champions.
They beat rivals Canada 77-76 in a dramatic final, ending a 16-year wait for the world title.
The match was tied before Courtney Ryan nailed the second of two free-throw attempts with only 20 seconds left on the clock.
Lindsey Zurbrugg the key to the USA's victory was good teamwork.
She dominated at the basket with 26 points, while Rose Hollermann and Ryan were also top scorers with 17 points.
“I think the key was just us trusting in the process,” she told the IWBF.
“We have the world’s best teammates... I would be nothing without my teammates.”
At Paris 2024, USA claimed silver, bettering their bronze at Tokyo 2020. The team’s last Paralympic title was Rio 2016.
Great Britain miss out on double bronze
In the men’s bronze medal match, Great Britain triumphed 67-56 against Germany.
“We worked so hard to be right at the top of the tree,” said veteran GB star Gregg Warburton.
Great Britain won silver at Paris 2024 behind champions USA while the Germans were the bronze medallists.
The GB team were not able to repeat the victory in the women’s event, as the Netherlands took the Worlds bronze with a 63-50 win.
The Dutch had previously won back-to-back Paralympic gold and world titles but were upset by Canada in the semi-final, leaving them to compete for the bronze.
"I am very proud now that we won (bronze). Of course, there is a bit of a nasty, sour aftertaste, because I would have loved nothing more than to go home with a gold medal around my neck," Bo Kramer admitted.
“We shouldn't forget that we are here with a completely different team than we were in Paris. And that means we are partially rebuilding; young girls need to be integrated. So it is a very different situation."
Full results from the World Championships can be found here.
