Tom O'Neill-Thorne

Started: He began playing wheelchair basketball at age 10 in Darwin, NT, Australia. "My first chair was donated to me by [Australian wheelchair basketball player] Melissa Dunn, a silver medallist at the Sydney Paralympic Games [in 2000]. The chair was older than me and wasn't customised. It didn't have many straps or sideguards and we had to adjust the wheels to fit me in it." (abc.net.au, 25 Jun 2021; Athlete, 11 May 2016) Reason: "I watched the Australian team play and thought I would give it a go at my local competition. It took off from there." (Athlete, 11 May 2016) Awards: In 2013 and 2015 he was named Northern Territory Junior Sportperson of the Year at the NT Sports Awards in Australia. (dtsc.nt.gov.au, 04 Nov 2019) In 2014 he was named Australian Male Junior Wheelchair Basketballer of the Year by Basketball Australia. (australia.basketball, 18 Aug 2018) Additional Info: STOLEN RING In January 2018 his family home in Darwin, NT, Australia, was broken into and the ring he won at the 2014 World Championships in Incheon, Republic of Korea, where Australia claimed gold was stolen. In April 2019 the ring and other family possessions that were also stolen in the incident were returned after they were recovered by police. (9news.com.au, 04 Apr 2019) REFEREE He is a qualified wheelchair and non-Para basketball referee. (australia.basketball, 18 Aug 2018)