Matthew McShane
 Portrait of Matthew McShane taken at team processing session for shadow members of 2016 Australian Paralympic team | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Macca |
| Nationality |
 Australia |
| Born | 1 November 1990 |
| Sport | |
| Position | Guard |
| Disability class | 1.5 |
| Club | Queensland Spinning Bullets |
Matthew McShane (born 1 November 1990) is a 1.5 point wheelchair basketball player from Australia. In 2016, he was selected as part of the Rollers team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Biography
Matthew McShane was born on 1 November 1990. When he was 18, he contracted transverse myelitis, a neurological condition in which the spinal cord is inflamed, that left him paraplegic. Coming home from his work one day he suddenly found that he was unable to move.[1] He was in hospital and rehabilitation for nine months.[2]
McShane had always enjoyed sports, particularly Australian football, surfing and Skateboarding. During rehabilitation, he was introduced to wheelchair basketball,[1] and played his first game in a social competition on the Gold Coast.[2] He then joined the Queensland Spinning Bullets the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) as a 1.5 point player, and played his first game with the national team, the Rollers, in November 2014.[2] In June 2016, he toured Great Britain for the 2016 Continental Clash against Canada, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States.[3] The Rollers were defeated by the United States, and won silver.[1] In 2016, he was selected for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.[4] He was one of five Rollers selected for their first Paralympics [4] where they finished sixth.[5]
McShane loves long walks along the beach with his girlfriend Ella and Groodle, Ivy Benson.
As of 2016, McShane is student at the Gold Coast campus of Griffith University, where he is in the third year of a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree.[2] "I’d like to get into product design and manufacturing in some form," he said. "Maybe I can 3D print my own wheelchair, in titanium for extra strength. Basketball takes a heavy toll on our chairs and they’re not cheap. I’m already onto my third so it would be good to have a 3D printer handy.".[2]
References
- 1 2 3 "Matt McShane". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Basketballer Matt on a roll towards Rio". Griffith University. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ "Australian Rollers Name Team for 2016 Continental Clash". Basketball Australia. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Australian Rollers ready for Rio 2016 revenge". Australian Paralympic Committee. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ "Hosts shock Rollers to end Rio campaign". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 29 September 2016.